The Arrangement
by missingstars89
Summary: When Caroline finds herself in need of some help, she strikes a deal with her neighbor, the arrogant Klaus Mikaelson. With their deal in place, Caroline may find that she's about to get more than she bargained for. AU/AH. [HIATUS]
1. Chapter 1

"Good morning, neighbor."

Caroline had to refrain from rolling her eyes at the cocky Brit standing in front of his doorway in nothing but a pair of sweatpants though she had seen him in far less on more than one occasion.

"How was the jog?"

Before she got a chance to respond, she saw a model looking brunette appear behind him dressed in nothing but one of his t-shirts and wrapped her arms around his naked torso. Caroline raised her eyebrows, and let herself into her apartment.

"Why does he always have to stand out in the hallway half-naked almost every morning?" she complained as soon as she saw her new temporary roommate sitting at the table with her phone in one hand and a half-eaten bagel in the other.

"Your hot neighbor?" Katherine asked with a smirk.

"He is _not_ hot," she protested.

"You may not like the guy but even you can't deny that he's hot," Katherine argued amusedly. "Don't worry, if the way he checks you out serves as any indication, he thinks you're hot too."

"When does he find time to check me out with all the women he's always busy parading around with?" Caroline snorted.

"Jealous?" Katherine asked, wagging her eyebrows.

"As if," she retorted with an eye roll, reaching out for the morning paper as she plopped herself down on one of the chairs.

As she skimmed through the front page, she groaned when she read about the upcoming gala the following night in Las Vegas and Lockwood's campaign announcement.

"I still can't believe I won't get to be there," she grumbled. "Do you know what getting an exclusive about this campaign could mean for me?"

"Not going on anymore coffee runs for your douchebag supervisor?"

"Exactly!" she exclaimed. "And I might actually get to finally be printed."

"So then why don't you quit whining and figure out a way to go?"

Caroline turned to glare at her.

 _Hello!_ Didn't she think she was trying?

Katherine was right though. If she wanted a chance at this story, she needed to find a way into that gala.

"Where are you going?"

"I have to be at work in an hour, I will be using every available minute I have until then, to figure out a way to get in without a press pass," she answered over her shoulder.

"That's my girl," Katherine smirked into her coffee cup.

By the time Caroline was making her way up the stairs after another long day at work, she still wasn't any closer to figuring out a way in and she had all but given up. She let herself into her apartment and dragged her body over to the couch where she turned on the TV and flipped through the newspaper again, almost like she enjoyed the torture.

She was reading through the article on Lockwood and the gala when a certain name caught her attention.

 _Of course!_

Why didn't she think of it before?

She all but jumped off the couch and threw her door open before running across the hall and knocking a bit louder than normal due to her sudden excitement.

A few moments that felt like minutes later, the door was opened to reveal her surprised-looking neighbor and she noted that he was fully dressed for a change.

"Caroline," her name rolled off his tongue like a gentle purr and she tried not to react. "What a pleasant surprise. What can I do for you, love?"

"Um," she started, suddenly unsure of herself now that she was standing in front of him but deciding to hell with it.

 _What's the worst that can happen?_

"I was wondering if you could do me this sort of really huge favor," she said with her winning Miss Mystic Falls smile.

"This sort of really huge favor?" he repeated amusedly with a smirk. "What is it that you need?"

She took in a deep breath.

 _Just do it Caroline._

"Can you get me into tomorrow's gala?" she asked quickly but in a steady voice.

She knew his family was going to be involved in Lockwood's campaign, particularly his father who was Lockwood's campaign manager.

He looked surprised by her request and for some reason, that prompted her to try and explain her situation and then waited for his response with bated breath.

"You come to me in your time of need-"

"Seriously?" she interrupted, irritation clear in her voice. "Ugh! Forget I asked."

She turned to walk away but he quickly tugged on her elbow to stop her.

"I was only joking, sweetheart," he quickly said, looking at her with an apologetic smile and she reluctantly stayed. "I can't get you a press pass," he continued. "My father is the one responsible for those press passes as he very carefully selects who from the press he wants to attend."

Caroline frowned at this.

"There's a reason why _The Post_ wasn't invited," he said matter-of-factly.

"How did you know I work with _The Post_?" she asked with an arched eyebrow.

"Probably the same way you knew my family is involved with Lockwood's campaign," he shrugged with an unabashed grin. "Should I be flattered that you looked me up?"

She tried to fight back the blush on her cheeks and narrowed her eyes at him.

"I happened to come across that information about your family through the paper," she replied a bit defensively even though she knew, and judging by the look he was giving her, he knew as well, that that was a total lie.

She may or may not have looked up the hot new neighbor when he first moved in. She wasn't a stalker okay? She was simply curious and hey, she wasn't in investigative journalism for no reason.

"Well, thanks anyway," she said a bit sheepishly, fighting back her overwhelming disappointment that he wasn't able to help her either.

"Hold on a minute," he quickly interrupted. "I may not be able to get you a press pass but I do have a way of getting you inside."

She looked at him, raising her eyebrows as she waited for him to continue.

"You could attend the event with me," he said simply but the glint in his eye made a shiver run down her spine but she quickly tried to ignore it.

"As your plus one?"

"As my date," he corrected. "More specifically, as my girlfriend."

" _Excuse me_?" she replied louder than she intended, opening her mouth to speak when he once again interrupted.

"Calm down, love it would all be simply a little ruse for the night," he explained. "My sister and my mother-," he trailed off with what sounded like an exasperated sigh. "It would get my family off my back for one night and you would also be getting what you want."

"I don't want to pretend to be your girlfriend for the night," she retorted, rolling her eyes when he simply shrugged.

"No, but it would get you inside so you could get your story that could lead to your big break. Believe me sweetheart, I'm not jumping for joy at having to do this either," he replied stiffly. "But sometimes sacrifices must be made for the great good."

She rolled her eyes and looked up at him to find him waiting expectantly.

"Some would call this manipulation," she pointed out dryly.

"And others would call it us being mutually desperate," he countered. "I'm afraid I only get a plus one and other than that, I have no say in who gets inside. As I'm sure you're well aware, the political campaign is all my family's dealing not mine. I'll let you think about it."

She went back to her apartment, trying to make an extensive list of pros and cons.

 _Ugh! Why can't he just do this out of the goodness of his heart?_

She snorted at the thought. Klaus didn't strike her as the type of person to do many favors without getting something in return.

It was almost two hours later when she found herself knocking on his door for the second time that evening.

"Fine," she said as soon as he opened the door, rolling her eyes a little at the shit-eating grin that appeared on his face and handed him a small stack of color-coded papers. "But if we're going to do this, we're going to need to make it believable meaning we have to know things about each other in case they ask so I've written down some stuff about me on those papers, the green are some of my hobbies etc. They're all labeled. The blank pages are for you to fill out and you can return them to me tomorrow so I can study them before we arrive. There will be absolutely no kissing or wandering of hands understood?"

She could tell he was doing his best to fight back a laugh but he simply nodded.

"Now, for flights-"

"Don't worry, love I've got it handled," he interrupted with that amused grin still in place. "Meet me downstairs in the lobby tomorrow at 9:45."

She looked at him almost reluctantly before nodding her head.

"Well I guess that settles that then," she said, glancing at him once more and trying not to react to the way he couldn't stop grinning like a kid who had Christmas come early.

Muttering a quick goodnight, she turned to leave back to her apartment when he heard him say all too jovially, "I'll see you tomorrow, Caroline."

He watched her walk back into her apartment before stepping back inside of his, unable to wipe that smile off his face.

 _Why was he so damn giddy?_

He quickly shook his head, almost as if trying to shake the smile off his face before pulling out his phone and dialing a familiar number.

"Oh so he does know how to work a phone," came an irritated response from the other end making him grow slightly irritated as well.

"Hello to you as well little sister," he answered dryly.

"So what is it this time?" Rebekah asked. "What excuse will you be giving mother as to why you won't be attending tomorrow?"

He rolled his eyes and bit back an exasperated sigh.

"You can't keep avoiding all events that Elijah and-"

"I'm calling to say that I'll be there tomorrow," he interrupted, frustration evident in his tone.

Had he not been so annoyed, he might have laughed at the way she went silent for a few moments.

"You're coming?" she repeated disbelievingly. "But Finn said you had declined your invitation."

"Well there's been a change of plans," he responded.

"What kind of change?" she asked suspiciously, making him roll his eyes.

"The kind that involves me going from not being present tomorrow night to being present," he answered sardonically. "I just thought you and mother might want to know."

There was silence for a few more moments before she spoke again, her voice a lot kinder this time.

"Mother is sleeping now but I'll let her know tomorrow morning," she said. "She'll be happy to see you Nik."

He swallowed the knot that had formed in his throat but said nothing for a moment.

"You should probably warn father as well," he added with a humorless laugh. "We both know he won't be very happy with this news."

"He'll be too busy with the Lockwood's anyway," she replied dismissively. "I'll also let Finn know to add your name back on the list."

"Tell him to put down I'm bringing a guest as well," he said quickly, already dreading the questions he was no doubt about to get.

Sure enough-

"Who are you bringing?"

"A guest," he repeated dryly, smirking at the huff of irritation on the other end.

"Don't tell me you're bringing one of your trollops to-"

"Mind your tongue little sister," he snapped. "You will meet her tomorrow and you will give her the respect she deserves do I make myself clear?"

He heard her scoff, making him clench his jaw in frustration.

"I mean it Rebekah," he said through gritted teeth.

"So do we have a name for this guest of yours?"

He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Caroline," he replied, enjoying the way her name rolled off his tongue despite his current irritation. "Caroline Forbes."

* * *

The next morning, Caroline was up at sunrise, too anxious to try and sleep any longer. She kept debating with herself on whether she did the right thing by accepting or not and thought of backing out more than once.

Still, she found herself staring at her packed bags a mug of coffee in her hands while she half-listened to Katherine's relentless teasing.

"I can't believe your neighbor hustled a date out of you," she smirked. "He's smarter than I gave him credit for."

"He didn't hustle a date out of me."

"No, he just hustled a relationship," Katherine retorted with a laugh.

"A _fake_ relationship and it's just for one night."

"Mmhhmm," Katherine laughed again. "Tale as old as time. You two will go away this weekend, barely even friends, then somebody bends unexpectedly-"

"Okay, you are _so_ not going to ruin one of my favorite Disney songs or movies for me!" she interrupted with a glare.

Katherine merely laughed and shrugged.

"Would it really be the end of the world if you two didn't end up hating each other by the end of all of this?"

Caroline turned to glare at her again.

"I don't hate him," she replied stiffly. "I just don't like him but I tend not to like cocky, pretentious assholes who think I'm soliciting sex when I show up with a welcome basket."

Katherine laughed again, remembering the story all too well.

Caroline rolled her eyes and looked down at the time.

"Okay, I better start heading down," she sighed. "You sure you're going to be okay all by yourself this weekend?"

"Yes mom, I'll be fine," Katherine replied with an eye roll. "Seriously, don't worry about me. I think you already have enough on your plate to worry about this weekend."

Caroline acknowledged her point with a grimace and a few minutes later, she walked into the lobby, surprised to see him already waiting there with a cup of coffee in each hand and she couldn't resist the urge to let her eyes wander over him, taking in his fitted grey Henley and dark jeans, the necklaces peeking out from underneath, screaming for her to twist her hands around them and pull him down-

 _Stop it! Stop it Caroline Forbes!_

She quickly snapped her eyes up to his only to see he was taking her in as well and if that little smirk was any indicator, he liked what he saw too but she forced herself to remain impassive and fought down the butterflies –nope, not butterflies- that appeared in her stomach when she saw him finally look up at her with a wide dimpled grin, a soft twinkling in his eyes and if she didn't know any better, she would say he was genuinely happy to see her there.

"Good morning neighbor," he greeted, handing her a coffee cup and not losing his smile.

"Good morning," she answered meekly, taking a sip of the coffee and looking at him with raised eyebrows, silently asking how he knew that was her favorite kind.

It wasn't exactly a common order.

"Your notes," he answered her unspoken question, chuckling when her eyes widened in surprise.

She cringed internally as she remembered that she had written down she was a coffee fiend as a random fact about her.

"You seem surprised, love," he stated. "Did you not expect me to read them?"

"I don't really know what to expect," she shrugged. "So do you have your notes for me?"

He responded with a smirk that let her know she wouldn't like his answer.

"We have the whole day and a flight ahead of us," he started as he moved to get one of her bags. "I figured we could use that time to get to know one another."

He walked ahead of her to a waiting car she hadn't noticed before.

He turned around to see her ready to argue and protest so he quickly spoke up again.

"I'm not asking you to bare your soul to me nor am I asking for you to even like me," he said. "Just talk to me."

She responded with an incredulous look.

"Come on, get to know me," he continued almost pleadingly, noticing her resolve waver a tiny fraction and he quickly jumped on it. "I dare you."

She looked back up at him, taking in his smirk but beyond that, she could see the want, the need in his eyes.

"Fine," she finally replied.

She tried to ignore the way his face lit up with that dimpled smile again and she tried not to react when she felt his hand on her back as he led her to the car.

As the car pulled away from their building, Caroline sneaked a glance at the man sitting beside her.

It was true. She didn't know what to expect but one thing she did know. She was in for one hell of a weekend.

* * *

 **Thanks for reading! This is based off a drabble request I received and decided to split into 3 parts. Please feel free to share your questions or thoughts with me. :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello everyone! Wow! I was so blown away by the response to the first part of this, thank you guys so much! I'm so excited you guys enjoyed that first part! :)**

 **Please forgive any errors I didn't catch.**

* * *

"I've rented us a car for the weekend. The driver should be waiting for us up front to take us to check in to our hotel," Klaus was saying as they weaved their way through the busy airport and trying to make their way to baggage claims.

She nodded her head, eager to get to her hotel room where she would be alone and away from the man walking beside her.

It's not that she hadn't enjoyed his company; in fact it was the opposite. She had surprisingly enjoyed his company more than she expected to and that would prove to be highly inconvenient in her vow to never like the pretentious womanizer living across the hall.

"We could go get something to eat at the hotel restaurant after we check in to our rooms," he suggested, distracting her from her thoughts.

"Um…I'm feeling kind of tired," she lied. "I'm thinking I might just order room service and get some rest before heading to the gala."

He nodded his head but she could see the hint of disappointment on his face before he quickly masked it.

"NIK! NIKLAUS!"

Klaus froze immediately and turned his head so quickly she was genuinely surprised he didn't snap his neck or get whiplash in the process as he looked for the source of the obnoxious yelling.

Before she could question what, or who that was, she saw a tall and gorgeous blonde rushing toward them, well specifically him.

 _Pfft. Of course he would have his legion of women even here._

Whatever. He could do whatever or whomever he wanted, she didn't care. She was only there for her story and that was it.

"Bekah what are you doing here?" he managed to ask, his voice a bit muffled by the blonde in his arms.

 _Bekah? Why did that name sound familiar?_

"Niklaus, I am glad to see you have made it," came another voice and Caroline turned to see an older woman approaching them, accompanied by a tall guy with dark hair and mischievous grin, the clear source of the obnoxious yelling, and she soon recognized them from one of the pictures she had seen online.

This was his family.

 _Oh God, this was his family!_

She was already meeting his freaking family?! _How was it possible that they were all better looking in person?_

She turned to glare at him (subtly of course), wanting to yell at him for not warning her about meeting his family this soon but judging by his obviously tense posture and the confused and bewildered look in his eyes, he was caught off guard by this as much as she was.

"Mother," he greeted stiffly. "I was not expecting to see you all here."

"Naturally. You didn't even give us your flight information and you hired a car service to come pick you up but you know that in this family we have a way of getting the things we want," Esther replied with a hint of a smile before stepping closer as Rebekah moved out of the way, and cupped his face with both hands. "It's good to see you my son. It's been too long."

To say Caroline felt uncomfortable was an understatement. Never in her life had she felt so out of place.

"Now, why don't you introduce us to your lady friend," his mother continued, stepping back and finally letting her eyes fall on her, and Caroline could feel herself being judged from head to toe, making her question again why she agreed to do this in the first place.

"Yes Nik, introduce us," the one she recognized as Kol Mikaelson said with a sly smirk she found herself eyeing warily.

"Hi, I'm Caroline," she said with a smile that she hoped didn't appear as strained as it felt because she could feel Esther's and Rebekah's gaze boring into her.

"Caroline," Esther repeated. "And how do you know my son?"

She felt Klaus tense even more and heard him release an exasperated sigh.

"Can we at least wait until we leave the airport before starting with the interrogations?" he asked dryly.

"Don't be so dramatic Niklaus, it's just a simple question."

Klaus rolled his eyes before glancing down at Caroline and taking her slightly by surprise when he wrapped an arm around her waist and then looked back at his mother.

"Caroline's with me. We're together. That's what you want to know isn't it?"

He was not surprised to find the amusement in Kol's eyes, the annoyance and clear distrust in Rebekah's, and wariness but obvious curiosity in his mother's and a part of him suddenly felt guilty for deceiving them this way but he quickly brushed it off.

 _It was a meaningless lie that would only last through the weekend. What would it hurt in the long run?_

"Now, we can continue this conversation at a later time. Caroline and I are tired and would like to check into our hotel before we have to head to the gala," he continued in a firm voice that really left no room for argument.

He looked down at her and she gave him a small but appreciative smile that he found himself returning.

"Yes, about your hotel, I've had Kol cancel your reservation," Esther replied simply, ignoring both of their reactions completely. "Don't worry, I've had the guest room drawn up for you, the one with the view you really like-"

"Mother, why would you do this without even thinking of consulting me first?" Klaus asked through gritted teeth.

"I wasn't about to let my son, whom I have not seen in over a year, stay at some hotel when there is room for him and his companion," she said the last word warily, "at our home."

"This wasn't your decision to make," Klaus shot back.

"You're right," Esther replied with a sigh. "Perhaps I should have asked before I proceeded. I think I got carried away with my excitement when I heard that you would finally be paying your family a visit after so long. I was simply hoping to get to spend as much time with you as possible," she continued, turning her attention back to Caroline. "For who knows when he his next visit will be," she finished solemnly. "I apologize my dear, like I said, my excitement got the best of me."

Caroline knew _exactly_ what Esther was up to but still, there was that damn need inside of her to want to make everyone around her happy.

"I understand," she found herself responding, much to Klaus' surprise. "My mom's the same way every time I go visit her," she took a small breath before continuing. "Thank you for opening up your home to us."

"Caroline-"

"My pleasure, dear," Esther happily responded, cutting Klaus off. "Kol, why don't you help your brother get their bags and we'll start heading toward the car?"

While they went ahead, Klaus tugged on her arm and turned her attention back to him.

"Caroline, we really don't have to stay with my family. Don't feel obligated to do this simply for my mother's sake," he quickly assured her. "I can call and get us reservations at another hotel if necessary-"

"No really, it's fine Klaus," she insisted, truthfully trying to reassure herself more than him. "It's just one night, two days, I think I can manage. And this way you get to spend a little more time with your family that's obviously missed you."

He looked at her unconvinced but she moved to follow after the other Mikaelson's before she lost her nerve and decided to opt for the hotel instead.

While Klaus was putting his bag in the back of the car, he noticed Kol hanging around with a mischievous smirk on his face.

"Bummer about those hotel reservations isn't it?" Kol said with a mocked sigh, mischievous glint in his eyes. "You guys had such great rooms too. Funny though, you two are dating and it must be pretty serious if you're bringing her home to meet the family, yet you two were staying in separate rooms and when I spoke to Marcel today, he had never even heard of your sweet Caroline."

 _Son of a bitch knew._

Klaus glared at him, the threatening look in his eyes speaking volumes but Kol appeared unfazed.

"I suppose it's a good thing our dear sister hasn't spoken to him. I do offer my congratulations though brother," Kol continued with a cheeky grin. "She does look like a tasty little thing."

With that, he quickly dodged out of Klaus' way with a laugh and made his way to the car, leaving an irritated Klaus following close behind him.

* * *

When they reached the Mikealson manor, Caroline was more than ready to get out of the small space and away from, well, all of them.

Kol had been making lewd jokes almost the entire ride while Esther had been drilling them with questions every chance she got (thank goodness they had gone over their story on the plane)-

 _"How did you two meet?"_

 _"You're neighbors? How interesting."_

 _"What are you living arrangements now that you're dating?"_

-Rebekah had kept eyeing her like she was expecting Caroline to steal the expensive designer purse she was carrying and Klaus, well, he seemed to be making the most out of the awkward situation they were stuck in.

She was sandwiched between him and Rebekah in the backseat and when he threw his arm over the seat she tried not to focus on that. It was a small space and this gave them a little more room. Then she felt his thumb lightly stroking the top of her shoulder and even through her sleeve, she could feel the heat radiating from his touch but still, she went along with it. They were pretending to be a couple after all and they did have an audience.

Then came the brushing of the leg against hers. The first time she wrote it off as being accidental but after the fourth time, she put her hand on his knee and gripped it with just enough force she could tell he had to actively refrain from visibly wincing. She did all of this with her charming Miss Mystic smile that turned into a smirk when she saw the clear annoyance in his eyes.

Yes, Caroline was more than ready to get out of the car and away from them for at least a little while.

Unfortunately for her-

"Take their bags and lead them to their room, the same one Niklaus stays at when he does visit," Esther instructed one of the servants.

Their _room_? As in singular?

 _Well fuck._

"Don't worry, I've placed your aunt in the guest room in the opposite hall from yours. I know you two aren't fond of one another, so Finn and Sage will be in the other guest room by yours," Esther said turning back to Klaus. "The food will be ready shortly. I'm presuming you two are hungry?"

 _Not anymore._

"Is the regret starting to sink in right about now?" Klaus tried to tease as he studied her every move and reaction closely after the servant left them alone in the room they would be sharing. "Not too late to change your mind. I know this wasn't part of our arrangement."

"Right, cause it's not like that wouldn't look bad or anything," she answered sarcastically, rolling her eyes when Klaus simply shrugged.

"Does it really matter what it looks like? It's not like you actually need them to like you, love. After this weekend, chances are you'll never see any of my family again."

He didn't know why, but he found himself frowning slightly as he said it.

"No, but parents like me okay?" she retorted with an incredulous glare as she moved closer to the large four poster bed, mentally trying to figure out if there were enough pillows to create a barrier between them or if she should just take the floor. "And your parents will _not_ be the first to think that I'm not good enough for their son!"

"Well my father won't be a problem seeing as he'll probably pity you for thinking you're with me," he replied sardonically but before she could question it, he quickly continued. "Why does it matter since we're not actually dating?" he asked with an amused undertone.

"Yeah but they don't know that."

He couldn't stop himself from chuckling at her adorable pout, something he'd never thought he'd ever think of a woman.

'Pouting' and 'adorable' were two words he never thought he'd pair together. Hell, 'adorable' was a word he never thought he'd use.

She glared at him and he tried to stop laughing but it was clear he was having more than a little difficulty with that.

"I think you're giving this more importance than it's worth, but I have no doubt you'll be able to win my family over," he told her, voice still laced with amusement. "I have complete and utter faith in the former Miss Mystic Falls. When you do win them over however, will you also promise to aspire, inspire, and perspire-"

"Oh my God! Where did you hear that?" she exclaimed, feeling her face begin to flush and glaring at him when he started laughing.

"Well after you mentioned in your notes more than once that you were crowned Miss Mystic Falls, I got a little curious. Did you know that their website still has all the acceptance speech videos from every former winner?" he asked, grinning at the way her face became more and more flushed. "I really enjoyed hearing your speech love, you were very confident. I'm curious though, did you find a shortage of words ending in –spire?" he teased and laughed while easily dodging one of the throw pillows she threw at him.

"Yeah, it's hilarious," she said sarcastically but he could hear the hint of laughter in her voice and could see it on her face.

"I thought it was rather adorable."

"I'll show you adorable," she retorted, throwing another pillow that did manage to him in the face that time making her laugh triumphantly.

"You brought this on yourself, love," he said while playfully glaring at her.

As he moved towards her, she quickly grabbed another pillow and threw it but he successfully dodged it and when she turned to grab another, she let out a mix between a laugh and a squeal when she suddenly felt his arms around her, pinning her arms in place so she was unable to grab, let alone throw another pillow.

Just then, they were interrupted by a loud knock and the door quickly being swung open to reveal an amused looking Kol. They both quickly broke apart and she could've sworn she heard Klaus release what sounded like a frustrated sigh.

"Sorry to interrupt you two _lovebirds_ ," he started, a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. "But mother wanted you to know the food will be served soon."

"We'll be down shortly," Klaus responded curtly.

"Alright, just remember mother doesn't like to be kept waiting," Kol replied in a sing song voice.

"We'll be down shortly," Klaus repeated, a clear warning in his tone that made Kol snicker before leaving them again.

"I should probably take the opportunity to apologize in advance for my family," he said turning back to her once he was sure Kol wasn't hanging around eavesdropping. "You might end up hating me more than you already do after spending the weekend with them," he added jokingly but she could hear the underlying seriousness in his voice.

"I've dealt with my fair share of 'boyfriend's crazy families' trust me," she shrugged.

"The same families you won over?" he asked with a smirk.

"Well duh, who can resist my charm and charisma?" she joked with an exaggerated flip of the hair that made him chuckle.

She mentally noted how much she enjoyed the sound of his laugh but quickly shook it off.

"Well, we better head downstairs before they send somebody else to come find us," she said and walked ahead of him but stopped at the door and turned to look at him again. "And for the record, I don't hate you."

She caught a glimpse of his smile before she turned around and proceeded to make her way downstairs and could feel him right behind her.

It wasn't until he reached the bottom of the stairs that Klaus realized he was still smiling.

* * *

They walked in to the large dining room to find that mostly everyone had already been seated. After Klaus led her to an empty chair, thankfully next to his, Esther introduced her to the rest of the family she had not before.

"It's nice to see you finally bring a girl home again Klaus," the woman named Sage said to him with a smile but Caroline didn't miss the way he stiffened regardless. "How did you two meet?"

"We're neighbors," Caroline answered with a polite smile.

"Yes but how exactly did this lovely little relationship blossom?" Kol asked with a wicked grin Caroline and Klaus both found themselves wanting to beat off.

Aware that they had a very attentive audience in Esther and Rebekah particularly, they both knew that they had no way of skirting around the question. Thankfully they had covered this. As much as Klaus had teased her for it on the plane, Caroline had seen enough rom-coms with fake dating to know to cover her bases thank you very much.

"Well, since we live right across the hall from each other, we can't help but run into each other a lot," Caroline replied. "So you know, we ran into each other enough times that we finally noticed each other and got to talking and one thing led to another and here we are today."

She finished with a smile, mentally patting herself on the back for that flawless delivery if she did say so herself.

"Actually that's not quite true, love," Klaus said from next to her, making her immediately stiffen though she tried to remain natural.

 _What the hell was he doing?_

"What do you mean?" she asked sweetly, despite the fact that she was glaring at him.

"I noticed you since that first day," he replied simply, smirking at her obvious confusion despite her annoyance. "Since that day I was moving in, I noticed the beautiful blonde living across the hall from me."

"We didn't even see each other the day you moved in," she argued with a slight frown, all but forgetting the others at the table.

"Yes we did," he argued with a that smirk still in place, his eyes filled with mirth. "They were doing some maintenance on the elevators that day and you appeared to be carrying a heavy load and were in a rush to get to your work. I believe you nearly ran into my friend at the bottom of the stairs."

She felt her eyes widen and she could feel herself want to cringe in embarrassment as she recalled that fateful day he was speaking of, remembering the particular moment he was talking about.

She had had the morning from hell and that was definitely not one of her proudest moments. She had been so preoccupied with getting to work to set up for the presentation (that wasn't even hers!) that she hadn't even registered who she had snapped at when she nearly went barreling back on the steps. No, she hadn't snapped at Klaus, it had been at his friend but he had been there and she had glanced at him for all of about 3 seconds and in her rush, she hadn't even registered who she was looking at and had completely forgotten all about it by the end of the hour.

Apparently, he had not.

"How about one of you share with the rest of the class instead of rudely acting like we're not even here?" Kol asked and immediately winced when somebody kicked his shin from underneath the table.

Klaus turned back to him with a smug smirk and simply proceeded to pick up his drink and Caroline quickly did the same.

"It's really none of your business," was all he said.

"Saving the story for the wedding I see?" Kol retorted, getting the exact response he wanted when Caroline nearly spit out her drink and Klaus angrily glared at him and Caroline could've sworn she saw his hand twitch toward the steak knife next to him.

"Kol stop antagonizing our family's guests," Finn chided.

Kol raised his hands innocently but thankfully their aunt moved the conversation away from them and onto something else, something Caroline was very much thankful for.

"Still sure you want to stay here, sweetheart?" Klaus said in a low voice only she would hear. "Still not too late to change your mind."

She tried to fight back a smile and playfully elbowed him before turning her attention back to her food and trying to ignore his gaze she could feel on her.

* * *

After finishing that _very_ interesting late lunch where at some point, Esther tried to continue her interrogation of their relationship-

 _"How long have you been dating?"_

 _"Have you met her family Niklaus?"_

 _"Do you plan on moving in together?"_

-and she was sure that one of the Mikaelson's was going to draw blood, Klaus gave her a quick tour of the house and shared a few stories about him and his siblings that made her laugh. One day with him, not even a full day, and already she was starting to see more than the cocky womanizer who tried to get in her pants. Maybe he still was and these stories and the way he attentively listened to her own stories and asked her questions about herself were all pretense, but ironically enough, she felt like this little lie had actually brought them to be more open and honest with each other than they'd ever been.

By the time they ended up back in their room, she was more than ready for a break to try and clear her head. Thankfully, he left her to rest in their room while he went to the family study to take care of some work.

She must've fallen asleep at some point while texting Katherine because next thing she knew, she woke up and initially panicked when she didn't recognize her surroundings only to realize where she was moments later.

She glanced at the time on her phone and knew she needed to start getting ready for the gala. She wondered where Klaus was and if he had walked in at all while she was asleep, the thought making her feel a little embarrassed.

After she laid out her dress on the bed, she headed into the luxurious bathroom that was attached to their room to take a quick shower where she took a little longer than usual just because she really enjoyed the feel of the hot water against her skin. By the time she finally got out, she knew she was now a little more pressed for time.

After throwing on her tank top and tiny shorts she used for lounging around (she expected to be alone in her hotel room thank you very much), she quickly opened the door only to freeze when she saw Klaus standing across from her wearing only a pair of jeans and going through his own bag.

She had seen him shirtless a _countless_ number of times since he moved in, but this time it was obvious he had just stepped out of the shower too. She took in his wet curls and some of the water droplets still running down his chest that may or may not have made her picture some not so innocent things involving her tongue and that toned chest of his.

Thankfully, some rational part of her brain made her snap out of it and she looked up at him only to see him raking her in as well and she could feel herself begin to blush under his heated gaze.

"I didn't hear you come in," she said, trying to break the sudden tension and also to distract herself from his still very naked chest.

"Sorry sweetheart, I only came in to grab my stuff before getting ready in Kol's room," he apologized. "I uh, I brought you some food, thought you'd might want to eat something before heading to the gala."

She thanked him with a sheepish smile, moving across the room to where her own bag was and trying not to keep stealing glances at him all the while he was struggling to do the same. To say they were both failing miserably was an understatement though.

How in the hell were they going to share a bed tonight too?

"Did you eat anything?" she asked, noticing the tray of food sitting on the nightstand and once again trying to break that thick tension in the room.

 _Why can't he just put a shirt on?_

"I may have stolen a strawberry or two from you," he responded with a smirk, turning to face her.

"You can have some more," she laughed, looking down at the tray to avoid the temptation of checking him out again.

He felt his smirk grow when he noticed her pointedly avoiding looking at him.

Well this would not do.

He had noticed her checking him out when she walked out of the bathroom and a few times since. Just like he noticed her do it almost every morning after she came back from her morning jog. She may not like him but he knew she was attracted to him no matter how much she tried to deny it.

Struck with a sudden idea, he walked over by her and picked up one of the strawberries and he may or may not have purposefully brushed his hand against hers in the process.

"You really should try these, love," he said right before biting down on the juicy piece of fruit, smirking to himself when he noticed the way Caroline's focus was on his lips and the way her eyes darkened some when he slowly wiped some of the juice from the corner of his lips with his thumb before bringing it to his mouth. "Delicious."

When she didn't immediately reply, he smirked, very much pleased with himself.

"I really should finish getting ready though. I'll be in Kol's room if you need me," he added, grinning when she finally met his gaze. "Enjoy, sweetheart."

When she finally heard the door shut behind him after he walked out of the room with his suit and shoes in hand, she let out a breath she didn't even realize she had been holding.

 _What the hell just happened?_

* * *

A little over an hour later, Caroline did one last check in front of the mirror making sure nothing was out of place or needing to be reapplied.

She was nervous. Not only was she attending an event and trying to get a story for a paper that wasn't invited, she was also attending said event with Klaus while pretending to be his girlfriend.

She thought back on the smug bastard's little stunt earlier sure that he knew exactly what he was doing but she was determined to get the last laugh on that one.

With one final fix to the skirt of her dress, she walked out of the room to go find Klaus downstairs where he told her he would be waiting.

As she started making her way down the stairs in her six-inch heels, she could hear voices coming from downstairs, and she saw Klaus standing by the entryway checking something on his phone.

Since he was distracted, she took the opportunity to admire how undeniably handsome he looked tonight and she had no doubt he knew it too.

Almost as if he could sense her thinking about him, he looked up right then and his gaze immediately fell on her. She had honestly expected a variety of reactions from him but what she had definitely not anticipated was that lust and awestruck look. It was the same way she remembered grandfather looking at her grandmother once upon a time. It was all enough to make her suck in a breath and furiously fight back the blush she could already feel settling on her face and she had to look away.

"You look lovely my dear," she heard Esther say just as she reached the foot of the stairs."No doubt my son thinks so too," she added with a pointed look in Klaus' direction.

Caroline gave her an embarrassed smile and quickly glanced over at Klaus again and saw Kol was now standing with him before turning back to Esther who was speaking to her again.

Klaus had not been able to take his eyes off of Caroline since the moment he spotted her coming down the steps and not for the first time did he wish she really was his.

He was so focused on her, he didn't even notice the presence that joined him just then and it wasn't until he heard his brother's obnoxious snickers that he finally turned away from the stunning blonde.

"Oh, you've got it bad," Kol laughed.

Klaus glared at him and scoffed.

"Don't be ridiculous."

Kol openly laughed, much to Klaus' increasing annoyance.

"Don't be so obvious," Kol shot back, clearly amused by it all.

Klaus walked away from him and headed toward the blonde beauty who happened to look up at him just then and he was pleased to see the flustered look she got as she nervously tucked a lose strand of hair behind her ear.

What pleased him even more however, was the small and almost shy smile she gave him but it was that look in her eyes that made his entire face light up.

For the first time since they met it wasn't filled with annoyance, wariness or even the lust that he had caught on occasion. There was a hint of warmth in them, a hint of warmth directed at _him_.

"Hey," she greeted with that small smile when he finally reached her, neither one missing the way Esther conveniently excused herself.

"Good evening," he replied with a hint of a smirk. "You look stunning."

She could herself begin to blush again and she internally cursed herself because _hello!_ It's not like she had never had a guy compliment her before so what the hell was wrong with her right now?

Maybe she needed to go see a doctor or she might need to by the end of this weekend if she kept blushing so much.

"Thanks," she tried to reply nonchalantly. "You look good too but you probably already knew that didn't you?"

He chuckled and looked away almost if he were a little embarrassed but before she could comment on it, Esther announced the cars were all up front and it was time to head out.

Klaus felt himself stiffen at the thought that he'd be seeing his father again shortly, luckily having been spared up until now since Mikael had been gone all day and would be meeting them there. He knew whatever encounter they were about to have would not be pleasant and on top of that, he would be face to face with his brother Elijah and his wife again.

"Klaus?"

He turned his attention back to Caroline who was appraising him curiously.

"Ready, love?" he asked, extending his arm out to her.

She eyed him suspiciously for a moment longer before accepting his arm and he felt his dark mood lift considerably just with the simple gesture.

As the two walked down the front steps arm in arm to their waiting car, he couldn't help but picture this same scenario happening back home, with no prying eyes around them, under no pretenses and it surprised him how for a brief moment, he craved for it to be real before he shook it off, telling himself he was being ridiculous.

He caught sight of Kol waiting to get into one of the cars after their sister, watching them with a smug smirk and he could practically hear Kol's thoughts.

 _Oh, you've got it so bad._

He wouldn't admit, not even to himself, that there was a tiny part of him that couldn't help but wonder if maybe for once, the idiot was right.

* * *

 **So it's been brought to my attention that nobody actually reads these things but I'll thank you guys for reading anyway! :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hi, everyone. :) I'm sorry this is so late. For those of you that follow me on tumblr, you might be aware that I've been dealing with a bit of family situation and yeah. That can put a damper on your muse for sure. But anyway, here we are.**

 **Thank you so so much to every single one of you that followed (over 100 followers!), favorited, and reviewed! It really means a lot and I always get so excited when I see these notifications so thank you for helping make my day! It's always nerve wrecking posting a new chapter but thank you all for your wonderful support and for allowing me to share this story with you all. :)**

 **As always, please forgive any errors I did not catch. Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Caroline sucked in a deep breath in an attempt to calm her nerves and looked up at Klaus when she felt him squeeze her hand gently.

"Nervous?" he asked in a quiet voice next to her ear, smirking at the way her breath hitched at his action.

"No," she replied a little too quickly, making him raise his eyebrows and give her a knowing look. "Maybe. Just a little. I've never been to such an important event and basically lying my way into one."

"Don't worry love, weren't you the one to tell me that the hardest part was getting you inside?" he repeated her words with a tiny smirk. "Everything will be fine."

She looked up at him and gives him a small but appreciative smile, thankful that he pulled out of whatever funk he was in on the car ride here, if only to try and make her feel better.

She could feel he was still tense, but he hid it well and was as charming as ever as he moved around introducing her to different acquaintances and after the first few introductions, she would almost be willing to swear he enjoyed introducing her as his girlfriend a little _too_ much but she tried not to read into it.

He pointed out other prominent members present and whispered jokes and some nonsense in her ear, enjoying the sound of her laughter and the way she would roll her eyes or scoff more than he would care to admit. He was just beginning to believe his words from earlier, that everything would be fine, that this evening wouldn't be a total disaster, when he heard an all too familiar and an all too annoying voice that made him grit his teeth just at the sound.

"Klaus Mikaelson? Is that you?"

Clearly he spoke too soon.

"Damon," he responded dryly in greeting.

"Your sister mentioned you'd be here tonight but here I was being a nonbeliever," Damon smirked as he approached the couple. "And he comes well accompanied too," he added as he took in the beautiful blonde beside him. "Who might this beautiful lady be?"

Klaus clenched his jaw and had to refrain from growling in frustration though that didn't seem like such a bad thing in comparison to other things he was also tempted to do.

He had never been able to stand the elder Salvatore and there were few things that could get him in a bad mood as quickly as Damon Salvatore could. Sometimes just the sight of him was enough.

"Caroline, allow me to introduce you to Damon Salvatore, an associate of my _family's_ ," he added, emphasizing the last word to try and make it clear that Damon was not associated with _him_. "Damon this is Caroline Forbes, my girlfriend."

Caroline was just reaching over to shake Damon's hand, when he let out a low whistle, amusement etched clearly on his face.

"The philandering Klaus Mikaelson with a _girlfriend_?" Damon snickered. "I think hell has finally frozen over ladies and gentlemen."

Klaus grit his teeth while Caroline simply gave him a polite but awkward smile.

"Well, you've certainly done well for yourself, can't say I'm surprised. You always did have a good eye for beautiful things," Damon continued with a flirtatious smirk.

"Indeed," Klaus replied simply, though the irritation was clear in his voice. "Though aside from the fact that Caroline is not a _thing_ , I would kindly advise you to stop leering right about now _mate_ lest you want something unfortunate to happen to you."

"Whoa! Easy there tiger," Damon chuckled, raising his hands up innocently. "I was only congratulating you and making an observation. This isn't the Elijah and Tatia debacle sequel."

Klaus barked out a dark and bitter laugh, his fists clenching as he tried to restrain himself from beating the shit out of the annoying Salvatore. Honestly, was it not for the fact that he didn't care for making a scene and ruining the night for Caroline, he would have already done it.

"If only because Caroline has much more refined tastes than the likes of you," he sneered.

"How refined can those tastes be if she went for the likes of you?" Damon retorted smugly, turning his attention to Caroline. "You sure you want to settle for him? I mean with that temper, all that family drama and his questionable history. You do know Klaus here has been around the block more than a few times if you know what I mean?"

"Oh I know," she replied lightly before Klaus could say anything, the angry look on his face making it perfectly clear that this was quickly reeling out of control and she didn't exactly want to cause a scene. She was still technically here for work reasons after all.

"But I think Klaus knows I'm the best thing that's happened to him," she continued, turning her attention back to Klaus and winking at him playfully.

"Indeed," he smirked, his gaze softening just a little as he met hers.

"So I trust him not to mess this up," she said, turning back to Damon. "And between you and I, having all that experience has worked to my advantage. I think that saying that 'practice makes perfect' can definitely apply here because seriously, the sex is _mind_ - _blowing_. 'Best I've ever had' is the phrase that comes to mind so I think my tastes are just fine," she finished with a wink and coy smirk that turned into a full-fledged smile when she saw Damon's disgusted expression.

Klaus stared at her, eyes wide in surprise, barely able to hold back his laugh.

In all the time that he had known Caroline, there were many a time that he wanted to kiss her but he swore never had he been more tempted to kiss her than in that very moment.

"Well as fun as this little reunion has been, I'm much more interested in spending my evening with my girl so if you'll excuse us," Klaus said without so much as taking another glance at Damon, instead offering Caroline his arm again with a shit-eating grin and beaming look in his eyes as he kept his gaze on the blonde beauty beside him that was clearly full of surprises.

Caroline smiled at him and accepted his arm and gave a bright and innocent smile to Damon before the two walked away.

"Enjoy your night," Damon called out sardonically before looking directly at Klaus' retreating figure and muttering under his breath, "Prick."

* * *

"It appears I'll be making it a habit to apologize on behalf of my family and their acquaintances this weekend," Klaus said as he led her to the open bar. "I'm sorry about Damon."

"Don't worry about it. It's not like I haven't had to deal with my share of douches that are worst than Creepy McEyes back there," she shrugged.

He turned back to look at her with an amused grin on his face.

"Creepy McEyes?" he repeated.

"Okay did you _not_ see that creepy thing he kept doing with his eyes?" she exclaimed. "Why did he have to keep moving them around like that?"

Klaus could not remember the last time he laughed as much as he did right then when Caroline tried doing a very poor imitation of Damon's "creepy eyes" and kept widening them exaggeratedly, her facial expressions comical and strangely adorable all at once.

"You're amazing you know that?" he chuckled.

"I know," she answered arrogantly but he could see a hint of color appear on her cheeks.

He chuckled again and looked at her with a dimpled smile that she couldn't stop herself from returning.

"Ah how adorable you two are," Kol guffawed as he joined them just then. "Are you two always this sickeningly sweet?"

"What do you want Kol?" Klaus all but groaned.

Could he not catch a break tonight?

"I just want to spend some time with my big brother, since I've missed you so," Kol responded with puppy eyes.

Even though Caroline had only just met Kol, she couldn't help but snort at his antics while Klaus looked at his brother with an unimpressed stare.

"Alright fine, I'm bored," Kol admitted.

"Isn't the whole purpose of these events to mingle?" Caroline asked laughingly.

"Indeed so what are you waiting for little brother? Go on, have at it," Klaus added sardonically.

"It's no fun to do it alone," Kol complained. "Join me."

"As you can see, I'm already well accompanied," Klaus smirked while glancing over at Caroline.

"Then why don't you both join me?" Kol suggested with a mischievous smile. "Isn't the whole purpose of this weekend for us to get to know our future sister better?"

"Kol," Klaus warned but Kol paid him no mind and was already moving to wrap his arms around both of their shoulders.

"Come along dears," Kol said in a sing song voice.

"Kol, if you don't get your bloody hands off-"

"Temper, temper!"

They both stopped when they noticed their sister stop almost right in front of them and stare at them with a look of annoyance.

"Honestly, and I'm supposed to be the youngest?" she asked with a hint of disdain. "Mother has asked that you not cause any scenes tonight."

"We're not making any scenes baby sister, we are merely bonding," Kol replied sarcastically. "Care to join us?"

Rebekah turned to glare at Caroline before turning back to Kol.

"I would sooner watch paint dry," she said before walking away.

"What's bothering our dear sister this time?" Klaus asked in a slightly strained voice, not having missed the way Rebekah glared at Caroline.

"Oh you know Bekah always has been a little jealous that one has," Kol laughed. "She doesn't like that you brought your latest paramour home and that you're spending less time with our family to spend it with your blonde tart."

Klaus immediately turned to glare at his brother, a growl emanating his throat and Kol simply raised his hands innocently.

"Her words, not mine."

"You should go talk to her," Caroline said just then, not missing either the way he kept glancing in the direction his sister took off in.

"It's fine Caroline, it's just another one of my sister's petty tantrums," he tried to reply dismissively.

"Maybe. But you're only here for another day. Do you really want to spend your first weekend home in so long fighting with your sister?" she pointed out. "Go, I'll just be mingling with a few people behind the campaign anyway."

"And I'll keep her excellent company," Kol interjected gleefully.

"Kol," Klaus growled.

"I'll be fine Klaus, just go," Caroline interrupted, giving him a small but reassuring smile and he found himself nodding after a moment.

"I'll come find you soon."

She nodded her head and watched him walk away and all but forgot that Kol was still with her until she saw him offer her his arm out of the corner of her eye.

"Shall we darling?"

 _Well, here goes nothing._

"So you and my brother," Kol started as soon as Klaus was out of ear shot.

Caroline looked up at him and said nothing, waiting for him to continue. Klaus had already mentioned that Kol had figured it out but assured her he wouldn't tell anyone. Not if he wanted to keep his liver, anyway.

 _"He just wants to have his fun so do what I do and simply ignore him."_

"You two have certainly gotten quite good at this whole pretend couple thing haven't you?" he smirked. "Must say, sometimes you even have me going what with those adorable dopey looks you share like you were just now, or when I walked into your room earlier."

"Well, we have to make it believable," she said a bit defensively and looking away.

He smirked, like he was in on some secret joke she wasn't privy to.

"Yes, I'm sure that's it."

She looked over back at him, wanting to ask him what the hell that was supposed to mean but hesitated, not sure she exactly wanted to hear what he was going to say.

"So what do you say to getting another drink, hm?" he asked happily.

 _Yes!_

"Oh will you look at that? It looks like my girl Bonnie has finally arrived. Let's go and say hello. Oh and, try and make me look good. You are practically family after all."

She narrowed her eyes and shot him a quick glare at his last words.

"Why do I need to make you look good in front of your girlfriend?"

"Oh that's because she's not," he replied. "Not yet at least. See, she's still fighting that thick sexual tension between us."

She scoffed and shook her head but was unable to fight back a laugh.

"Are all of you Mikaelson men always so confident?"

He shrugged and winked.

"What do you think?"

* * *

After trying to reason with Rebekah for more than twenty minutes, he finally managed to reassure her that family still came above all and he got her to at least open up to the idea of Caroline. Not that it mattered. This lie was only for the weekend anyway, right?

Yet he had still practically bended over backwards trying to get his sister to give Caroline a chance and convince her that things were different with Caroline than they had been with the last woman he brought home. The woman that became his sister-in-law. The woman that his brother had betrayed his trust for.

Before he could get lost in his dark thoughts, he caught sight of Caroline downstairs with Kol and another beautiful woman he did not recognize but could only assume was one of Kol's latest paramours if the lovestruck look on his brother's face was anything to go by. Caroline had her head thrown back in laughter at whatever the other woman was saying, nodding her head in agreement while Kol scowled at the two women.

Klaus found himself smiling at the sight. There was something about Caroline's laugh and smile that was contagious that much was certain.

"Klaus."

And just like that, his smile vanished and his body stiffened.

He schooled his expression into an impassive one before begrudgingly turning around.

"Tatia," he greeted cooly.

"I didn't think we'd really see you here tonight," she said as she took a step closer. "I didn't believe your brother when he told us."

Klaus looked at her and said nothing, not sure why he was even still there.

"Your brother also said you were coming with somebody."

He gave her a cold smile that matched his icy glare.

"Indeed," he replied. "I was just on my way to find her now."

"Wow," she gaped in surprise. "I didn't realize you were seeing anyone. Not seriously anyway."

"Oh you didn't think I'd live out the rest of my life as a monk did you?" he asked mockingly. "And people say _I_ have a big ego."

"No, from what I hear, you've been doing quite the opposite," she shot back. "Which is why I think we were all surprised to hear that any woman was more than your one night stand."

"Yes well, you don't come across women like Caroline everyday," he responded with a humorless laugh. "I knew from the moment I saw her that I would be an idiot to let her pass me by. Might've been similar to what you felt when you met my brother."

"Klaus-"

"Oh, I'm sorry, still too soon to talk about it?" he asked sarcastically.

"Don't," she pleaded in an almost sad voice that one day might've affected him but all it did now was make him want to sneer at her.

"Niklaus."

Klaus grit his teeth at the sound of the newcomer that joined them.

"Elijah," he greeted with an audible edge to his voice as he took in his brother after so long.

It was the first time they were seeing each other since before Elijah and Tatia married. A wedding that he did not attend. A wedding that took place almost two years ago now.

"What a lovely little reunion," he quipped sardonically. "My apologies for missing your wedding. I hear it was quite lovely though the catering left a lot to be desired from what our dear sister tells me. Then again, Rebekah can be quite mean and a bit of a snob when it comes to stuff like that."

He smiled at the way the couple shifted uncomfortably in front of him.

"And here everyone thought our little reunion would be awkward," he laughed humorlessly.

"Perhaps we could talk somewhere more private," Elijah suggested, glancing around self-consciously.

"I'm afraid that will have to wait, see I have a beautiful woman waiting for me that I would very much like to get back to," he replied dismissively. "But by all means, enjoy your evening. Don't let me keep you waiting."

"Niklaus," Elijah started, making to reach out for his brother but stopped when Klaus fixed him with a cold an icy glare before turning to walk away.

Elijah's next words however, had him stopping dead in his tracks.

"How long will we continue this way brother? How long will you continue to avoid me and run away so we cannot fix things between us? We made a vow. Always-"

"Don't you dare put this on me!" he snarled, turning around to face him. "I wasn't the one to go around behind your back for what was it? Weeks? Months? Oh, who would've thought the honorable Elijah could stoop so low after his vow of family above all, always and forever?"

Elijah at least had the decency to look away with the shame clear on his face.

"Niklaus," came Esther's voice from behind him just then.

He turned to find his mother standing with Finn and Sage, all of them visibly tense. He turned and walked away, pausing when he caught sight of Caroline and Kol watching him and he took a deep breath before making his way over to them.

"I was hoping you'd like to join me for a drink?" he said when he reached them, looking directly at her and trying to reel in his anger all the while ignoring their curious looks.

"Uh yeah," she answered, taking his arm when he offered it to her. "It was nice meeting you Bonnie," she said as she turned back to her.

"You too," Bonnie returned with a warm smile. "I hope to see you around again."

Klaus gave the pair a subtle nod before leading Caroline away. He grabbed a champagne flute for each of them from a passing waiter and handed one to her.

"Would you fancy a walk around the gardens?" he asked, trying to keep his voice light and hide his eagerness to get away from his family's prying eyes. "Lockwood isn't set to give his speech for another half-hour or so."

"Sure, why not?" she agreed and he almost breathed a sigh of relief.

They walked arm in arm around the mostly empty gardens for several minutes before she finally broke the tense silence surrounding them.

"Was everything okay back there?"

"Everything's fine," he replied, not offering any further information and sighing when she gave him a dubious look. "It is. Just a little spat with my brother."

"Kol mentioned you guys had some kind of falling out?"

"Something like that," he answered stiffly.

"Was this some of that family drama Damon mentioned earlier?" she asked knowingly.

"Yes," he responded with a frustrated sigh.

 _Damn Damon and his big mouth._

"But I'd rather not talk about it now," he added with an audible strain to his voice.

She looked at him for a brief moment, looking like she wanted to say something but opting against it and nodding her head silently instead.

"So what do you want to talk about then?"

"You," he answered without skipping a beat, grinning at the way she laughed and rolled her eyes.

"I thought you would've realized by now that I'm too smart to be seduced by you," she quipped with a smirk.

"I know," he conceded with an amused smile. "I promise my intentions are strictly innocent."

"Just like your little stunt with the strawberry earlier?" she challenged, arching a brow.

He laughed unabashedly.

"Whatever do you mean?" he asked a little too innocently, dimpled grin in full effect. "Are you implying that the sight of me eating a simple fruit was alluring to you in some way?"

She could feel her entire face flush but refused to give into his baiting.

"It's okay to admit it love, I won't judge," he goaded. "You might find it'll make you feel better if you just say it out loud. It's not good to keep all that sexual tension bottled up inside"

She scoffed and narrowed her eyes at him before she was struck by an idea.

"Fine, it's true," she admitted, stopping and turning to face him, biting the inside of her cheek to keep from smiling at that flicker of surprise that crossed his face. "When I saw you bite into that strawberry earlier, I imagined those teeth and berry lips on my skin. I wondered how soft they would feel on me, against my lips, your tongue against mine," she continued in a low voice, taking a step closer to him so her chest was almost touching his. "How your stubble would feel scratching against my skin that marks so easily."

She fought back a smirk when he visibly swallowed knowing he was no doubt imagining these things. Hell, she knew she certainly was.

"I pictured your teeth scraping along my throat."

She brought up a hand and lightly pressed her fingertips on the area she just described before slowly moving it to the side of her neck.

"And then you would sooth it over with your tongue, making a trail down my neck, down even lower..."

She slowly brought her hand down and stopped right above her breast before she looked up and suddenly taking a step back.

"You're right. It did make me feel better to say that out loud."

She had to bite back a laugh at the glare he shot her in that moment.

 _Damn her!_

"Hey!" she gasped suddenly. "Is that Galen Vaughn?"

"Who?" he asked irritatedly.

"Galen Vaughn! He's supposed to be on Gallagher's campaign team, you know Gallagher? Lockwood's going to be campaigning against him. What's someone from his team doing here?" she asked, trying to keep her voice down as she followed the man with her gaze.

Klaus wanted to tell her he could care less about what this Galen Vaughn was doing here but she was already walking past him before he could get a word out.

"Caroline!"

She turned to glare at him and motioned for him to be quiet and he sighed in resignation as he followed after her. This woman was going to be the death of him.

He quickly caught up to her and the two walked arm in arm, keeping a good distance between Vaughn and themselves as they followed him deeper into the gardens.

"Where's he going?" she muttered under her breath.

While she was distracted by the man they were now following, he was distracted by the little stunt she pulled back there. He knew he had baited her earlier but what she had just pulled was downright cruel.

He was envisioning doing all of those things she described when she suddenly tugged on his arm to stop him and pulled him behind a tree.

"Feeling a little handsy are we?" he quipped in a low voice. "If you want to manhandle me all you have to do is ask."

She quickly glared at him before turning her attention back to the now two men standing several feet away.

"Can you hear anything?" she whispered, sighing in frustration when he shook his head. "Me neither."

She subtly poked her head out to try and see what the men were doing and also looking around for another tree or branch where she might be able to hear some of what they were saying.

"Who is he talking to? Can I at least catch a glimpse of his face? He's too far away and it's too dark out here." she groaned under her breath. "Ugh! They're just standing there."

"Is your field of work always this thrilling?" he asked after a few minutes.

He didn't even have anymore champagne either he thought with a pout.

"Shut up," she muttered with a only a half-hearted eye roll. "And by the way, you don't strike me as the kind of guy that lets himself be manhandled."

"True, but I'm sure I could compromise," he said with a sly grin. "Though I'm not quite sure you deserve a compromise after your little stunt back there."

She was opening her mouth to say something when she noticed one of the men reach into the inside of his coat.

"Sshh, Vaughn is handing him something," she said with an excited edge as she tried to make out what was happening.

He looked and sure enough, Vaughn was pulling an envelope out of the inside of his coat and handing it to the other man they had yet to identify.

" _Oh my god_!" Caroline gasped. "That's Mason Lockwood."

Klaus moved in and tried to get a closer look.

"Why is Galen Vaughn meeting with Mason Lockwood in secret and what's in that envelope?" she wondered with furrowed brows.

"Looks like you may be getting a story sooner than you expected," Klaus said.

She was opening her mouth to say something when-

"Crap! Mason's coming back," she panicked. "He can't catch us just standing here!"

He was just about to suggest trying to hide on the other side of the tree when he suddenly felt her pull him down by the lapels of his jacket and the next thing he felt were her lips crashing against his.

He was completely taken off guard that he didn't respond right away but as soon as his brain processed what was happening a few seconds later, he quickly pushed his body against hers, wanting to feel her as close as possible as he eagerly kissed her back.

After her teasing earlier and all those months of imagining the taste and feel of her lips, he was all but ready to devour her mouth with his own in that very moment.

Holding her firmly between the tree and his own body, he let one hand run down along her side all the way down to her thigh, while his tongue eagerly ran along hers before exploring every inch and every crevice of her mouth while she did the same.

All thoughts of Vaughn and Lockwood fled their minds as they both became consumed by the fire both had been playing with for far too long now and now that they had given in, it was as if neither could get enough. Even when they had to pause to get some much needed air, their lips would somehow still be on the other in some way until their mouths inevitably found one another's again.

He wasn't sure how long they were out there and he was just contemplating doing every one of those things that she had described earlier when-

"Caroline?"

Caroline quickly tore away from Klaus' lips as soon as she heard that voice, feeling like a bucket of cold water had just put out that heat she had been feeling only seconds ago.

This could seriously not be her luck! _What was he even doing here?!_

She gave Klaus a quick and almost apologetic look, her face flushing a bright red as she meekly looked over his shoulder.

"Caroline?"

"Hi, dad."

* * *

 **Thanks for reading! This was supposed to only be a 3-shot but I hated how the original concluding chapter turned out, everything felt rushed and my inspiration took me in a bit of a different route so I'm expanding this only a few more parts. Sorry!**

 **Anyway, if you guys have time and feel so inclined, please share your thoughts with me? :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**This chapter dedicated to the lovely CKhybrid, thetourguidebarbie (Angelikah), and justanotherfiveminutes. You made this new chapter and any future of my so called writing happen. Thank you so much for all your support and encouragement when I needed it most.**

 **HUGE thank you to every single one of you that followed, faved, reviewed and messaged me. You're all the reason I'm still writing so thank you, and thank you all for your patience and bearing with me as I dealt/deal with my writer's issues and real-life issues. Happy to say, things are getting better. :)**

 **HUGE thank you to the amazing fanfantasticworld and romanoffsbite for the incredible covers!**

 **Okay, I'll wrap it up. Please forgive any errors I didn't catch and it's been a while since I've done this so bear with me? :)**

* * *

Do you ever have those moments in your life that make you pause and wonder how you got here? Those moments that make you want to stop and look at all your life, your choices, look at every decision you've ever made that have led up to this particular moment in time?

Caroline was having one of those moments as she awkwardly stood between the two men staring at her, the same two men she was pointedly avoiding looking at, all while trying to not so subtly smooth out her dress and hair and maintain a dignified stance in the process.

 _Standing naked in front of a crowd would probably be less awkward than this._

"Dad," she nodded, furiously fighting to regain the normal color in her face. "What are you doing here?"

She stepped away from Klaus while still ignoring his bewildered and perplexed look that she would've found comical under any other circumstance.

"I wasn't expecting to see you," she continued, trying to act as nonchalant as possible and not like her dad had just caught her pinned against a tree with some strange guy's tongue in her mouth.

"Looks like we were both in for a surprise then," her dad remarked with a tight smile as he stepped closer to them, his eyes glancing back toward Klaus before appraising her. "You look well sweetie," he added more sincerely, before she could blurt out one of the dozen questions running through her mind.

This last comment gave Caroline pause and almost made her forget about the extremely uncomfortable situation as his words hit her and a small knot formed in her throat.

"Yeah, you too," she commented in a quiet and somewhat strained voice and she saw a ghost of a smile appear on his face before his eyes flickered back to Klaus.

"But now I think we're being rude. Are you going to introduce your old man to your new friend?" he continued, weighing the last word in a manner that had Caroline tensing.

Biting back a sigh, she begrudgingly looked back at Klaus who was looking at her with obvious confusion, no doubt wondering what the hell was going on.

"Dad, this is Klaus Mikaelson,"she answered, sounding every bit as awkward and uncomfortable as she felt.

"Mikaelson?" he repeated, raising his eyebrows in surprise. "Any relation to Mikael Mikaelson?"

"He's my father," Klaus replied, and Caroline didn't miss the way his jaw tightened as he bit out the last word.

"I didn't realize my daughter was so well... _acquainted_ with one of Mikaelson's sons," he commented with no shortage of sarcasm all while visibly sizing up the man in front of him.

Caroline took in the way her dad was looking at Klaus and she recognized that look. The look that said she wasn't going to like what came out of his mouth next.

"Dad," she started to warn but he continued as if she hadn't spoken.

"How do you know Caroline?"

Before either of them could reply-

"Oh, and do you normally make it a point to grope my daughter out in public venues or is tonight a special occasion?"

"DAD! _Seriously?!_ "

"What honey?" he asked innocently. "Just making small talk. It's not everyday one gets to meet the man mauling his only daughter against a tree."

 _Oh God!_

She glanced over in Klaus' direction, almost laughing at the way he looked like a deer caught in headlights and was she imagining it or _was he also blushing?_

If not for the extremely awkward situation she found herself in, she might've been able to properly revel in this moment of seeing Klaus so out of his element.

"You are aware you can get arrested for indecent exposure in the wonderful state of Nevada aren't you?" he added, strategically moving his suit jacket back to reveal a shiny pair of handcuffs tucked away on his belt buckle. "That saying what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, load of crap. Some things follow you forever. A criminal record can be just as haunting as an STD."

"Klaus can you give us a moment?!" she said loudly.

She saw him hesitate, almost as if unsure to leave her all on her own.

"I just need to talk to my dad about a few things," she assured him in a more quiet voice this time.

"I'll be waiting right over there if you need me," he told her before awkwardly turning his attention back to her father and excusing himself.

"Pleasure meeting you Mikaelson. I'm looking forward to chatting a little more later," Bill remarked with an almost threatening undertone.

"Dad stop," she groaned.

"Accents have always been your beer goggles haven't they?" he added with a shake of his head as he watched Klaus walk away. "How do you know him?"

"Let's not do the awkward boy talk _please_ ," she said with a slight edge to her voice.

"Oh, let's. _Please_ ," Bill countered sarcastically.

"Let's not and say we did. This way I don't have to stand here and explain something we both know you're not actually interested in," she shot back in a tone that matched his.

He raised his eyebrows at her, seemingly taken aback for a moment and she looked away, feeling a knot form in her throat before she quickly changing the subject.

"What are you even doing here? I didn't take you for a Lockwood supporter."

He smiled, almost amusedly before shrugging, allowing her to change the subject for now.

"Politics always were a bit of a sore subject between your mother and I so we didn't discuss them very much," he responded with a laugh as if he were in on some inside joke. "But that's not exactly why I'm here no. I've been asked to oversee security for Lockwood's campaign events and it wasn't exactly an opportunity I wanted to pass up."

She gaped at him like he had just spoken in some foreign language or told her he was in line for the throne.

"Wait, _what_?" she asked, incredulously

A part of her also felt annoyed all of a sudden that she might've had an in through him and had to resort to these measures instead.

 _That Pulitzer prize better be worth it._

"Why did they ask you?"

He merely shrugged.

"I happen to be very good at what I do," he answered a little arrogantly. "So now the question of the hour is, what are _you_ doing here? You don't strike me as being very interested in politics. _Clearly._ "

She turned to glare at him but he continued before she could get a word in.

"And your boyfriend, what else is he interested in other than defiling my little girl in public?"

 _Ew._

"Okay, I get it was a little... _awkward_ to find me in the position-"

 _Position? Seriously Caroline?_

"-you did and I'm _really_ sorry that you had to see that, but I'm an adult now dad. I live on my own, I have a job, I pay my taxes! You have to stop seeing me as a child-"

"I'll stop seeing you as a child when you stop acting childish."

"Excuse me?" she sputtered, feeling her anger start to rise.

"There's an old saying: Having a job and paying your rent does not an adult make. I thought the days of finding my little girl wrapped around a stranger like a hormonal teenager were behind me," he continued. "But it looks like there's some things we just can't leave behind. Though I hope this time you at least had him buy you dinner first."

"Wow," she laughed humorlessly. "You know, you're right. Some things are easier to leave behind than others right dad?" she replied cooly. "There's another old saying: Sending a Christmas and birthday card and randomly showing up to lecture your daughter does not a father make. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a hormonal stranger waiting for me to go back inside."

She made to move before pausing, an almost sad and disappointed look crossing her eyes as before she quickly masked it .

"Good seeing you again dad."

With that, she walked away missing the way he opened his mouth as if to say something only to close it again after a moment.

"Copy," he said after he listened to the incoming message on the small earpiece in his ear, while he watched his daughter walk away. "I'll be right there."

* * *

"So what's the verdict? Can I expect to be invited to Thanksgiving dinner and receive a Christmas card in the mail this year?" Klaus joked when he heard the sound of her her heels behind him.

It wasn't until he turned and actually saw her however, that he noted that she wasn't smiling or even giving him one of her annoyed looks he was accustomed to. No, in fact, she seemed upset, taking him off guard for a moment.

There were very few times Klaus had ever seen her like this and the last time involved sitting out in the hallway in front of their respective doors while she drunkenly rambled and vented as they waited for the locksmith to show up to let her into her apartment.

"Caroline-" he started to say when she cut him off.

"Don't," she said more harshly than intended and she released a sigh.

When she spoke again, her voice was softer.

"Please just don't say anything."

He raised his eyebrows at her but he'd obliged, albeit begrudgingly (can you blame him?), so the walk back had been filled with an awkward and tense silence.

As soon as they made it back inside, she announced she needed a drink and made her way to the drink table without so much as a glance at him before he could say a word, leaving a slightly frustrated Klaus behind. It's not that he was frustrated with her but with the situation. He felt as if they were finally making some progress...would she put some distance between them again because of their kiss?

Despite his current frustration and the still very vivid reminder of the most inopportune and awkward interruption in the history of interruptions (and mind you he had been caught in far more compromising positions in the past), he couldn't help the smile that appeared on those well-kissed lips.

The awkwardness of dealing with her father was _definitely_ worth it.

But now his blonde vixen was evading him. Sighing, he went after her.

It seemed she was too preoccupied with her own thoughts that she didn't notice him approach her while she waited for the server to hand her her drink.

"Are you alright, love?" he asked in a low voice, his warm breath fanning against her skin and he almost swore he heard her breath hitch.

"I'm fine," she breathed out.

"Well, well, well, look what we have here," Kol crooned from behind them as he walked toward them with Bonnie beside him. "Where are you two naughty children coming from?"

"Not now Kol," Klaus warned but as usual, his brother ignored him.

Kol smirked and turned his attention to Caroline and took in her the slight pink on her face and her almost flustered state.

"Are you alright darling?" he asked with clear amusement. "You like a little flushed."

"I'm fine," she bit out quickly for the second time in as many minutes.

A little too quickly.

"Are you sure?" he pressed with a chuckle, smirking at Bonnie when she discreetly elbowed him on the side.

"Positive," she responded with a smile and glare that could rival some of his siblings'.

"Enough Kol, leave us," Klaus interjected with a glare that almost matched Caroline's.

"Now is that any way to treat your little brother? I was merely trying to show my concern for my new sister," Kol said innocently.

"And here I thought you were just trying to be annoying," Caroline couldn't stop herself from retorting sarcastically, taking a grateful sip of her drink.

"He doesn't have to try sweetheart, it comes as natural to him as breathing," Klaus quipped.

"I'm surrounded by nothing but ingrates," Kol sighed dramatically, looking over Caroline's shoulder to see some other members of their family coming over in their direction.

"Then by all means feel free to go anytime now," Klaus smiled.

"Is Kol being a nuisance again?" Sage joked, having overheard the last bit of what Klaus said.

"What else is new?" Rebekah drawled.

"I take great offense to these accusations," Kol defended but there was a mischievous glint in his eye that had Klaus narrowing his eyes suspiciously. "I was merely trying to help. Mother was looking for Niklaus so I helped find him. And now I was only trying to show a little concern for dear Caroline and somehow I'm the bad guy?"

Klaus, Caroline, and Bonnie all seemed to roll their eyes simultaneously.

"And in the midst of all these unfair comments and accusations, I didn't even get to tell sweet Caroline that she has a bit of something caught in her hair," he announced, leaning over to pick out whatever it was before she could stop him and holding it up for everyone to see.

A _twig and_ _leaf_.

A small twig and leaf that had somehow gotten tangled in her curls from when Klaus had her pinned against that tree.

Kol stood there, holding the leaf out for everyone to see with the most infuriating smug smirk she had ever seen in her life and that was really saying something considering she knew Klaus King-of-Smug-Smirks Mikaelson.

"Hm. Wonder how that got there?" he mused, a wicked mirth dancing in his eyes.

Rebekah wrinkled her nose and looked away. Sage looked amused as she shot them a knowing look and Bonnie was visibly trying to bite back a smile.

"Where is it you said you disappeared off to" he added, twirling the small twig in his hand and wagging his eyebrows as he spoke.

And in that moment, Caroline knew. She was going to kill the son of a bitch.

* * *

She was distracted.

Right after Kol's little stint, someone had come on stage announcing that Richard Lockwood would be taking the stage and while the rest of Klaus's family had gone to stand closer to the stage after Klaus had ripped the twig out of his brother's hand and not so subtly threatened Kol to stop antagonizing her, she had hung back with the first excuse that popped into her mind.

She couldn't believe this was her night. _How was it possible for a person to feel this mortified more than once in a single night?_ she thought to herself, cursing everything that led to her currently fighting back the urge to scream while she wore her humiliation on her face in a _delightful_ shade of red.

Now Richard was well into his speech and she had maybe actually paid attention to a third of it. She was too distracted by all the thoughts running rampant and plaguing her mind. Between what she had seen between Mason and Galen, her encounter with her father, and-

 _Nope_. _So not thinking about that now._

To her credit, she really was trying _hard_ not to think about the heated make-out session with her hot and philandering neighbor but it was kind of hard when he was standing right beside her and she could feel his gaze on her every so often but she didn't dare look.

It's not that she was trying to ignore or avoid him per say...okay yes. That's exactly what she was trying to do _but only because she needed to gather her thoughts and focus on her original purpose, her sole reason for coming here._

Getting her story.

 _You only kissed him because you were trying to get your story and didn't want to get caught._

Yes, that was it. It was that simple.

 _What about after Mason left?_ another part of her asked but she quickly shut down that traitorous voice.

 _Okay, so maybe he's a good kisser- no! Bad Caroline!_

No. She didn't want to think about how good a kisser Klaus was. She didn't want to think about all the delicious feelings he is stirred inside her with those sinful raspberry lips alone or those moans- _oh God!_

She could feel a furious blush begin to spread across her face as she thought about the way she clung to him while he readily swallowed her moans and drove his hips into hers creating a delightful friction that had her audibly expressing her appreciation.

He shifted and she looked up to see him looking at her curiously, raising an eyebrow in a silent question, no doubt wondering if she was okay.

She gave him a tight and sheepish smile before quickly looking away, her eyes darting just about everywhere looking to focus on literally anything else.

Her eyes ended up landing on none other than Richard Lockwood's son, Tyler, who was standing with a pretty brunette apart from the rest of his family. While Carol Lockwood and Mason both looked like the poster children of family campaign support, both standing with wide smiles, their pride evident on their faces, Tyler appeared more stoic than anything else.

 _Weird_.

She watched as the brunette leaned in to whisper something to him and he nodded before glancing back at the stage where his father was still speaking. He then took her hand and discreetly led her out of the room.

Caroline quickly glanced in the Lockwood's direction to see Carol standing with a now strained smile, and Caroline watched as her eyes quickly darted to Mason, the two sharing a dark look that they quickly masked before turning their attention back to Richard.

She was really tempted to go after Tyler and was strongly considering it when the loud applause broke her out of her thoughts and she tuned back into Richard's speech to hear him thanking everyone for their support.

"So what's the verdict sweetheart? Can Richard count on you for your vote?" Klaus teased, turning to look at her with that sexy smirk on his face.

 _No. Not sexy!_

"I'd sooner vote for Darth Vader," she scoffed, quickly glancing around to make sure no one heard her.

The last thing she needed was somebody wanting her head for not swooning over Richard Lockwood.

"Was that a _Star Wars_ reference?" he asked amusedly.

"What?" she asked defensively. "I've seen _Star Wars_."

"And the Da Vinci Code if I recall correctly," he smirked and she could feel her cheeks flush a little at his comment.

 _Does this guy remember all of our conversations?_

"Shut up," she muttered, elbowing him when he merely laughed.

He looked at her a smug and amused smirk, raising her eyebrows as if silently challenging her and his eyes lit up when he saw the tiniest crack of the smile they both knew she was trying to hold back.

It was the most unguarded she had been around him since their kiss and he was just beginning to feel hopeful that he could still turn this evening around with her.

But what is it they say about hope again?

"Hello boy."

Why did the universe hate him so fucking much?

Caroline noticed the way Klaus immediately stiffened when they both heard that accented voice behind them and she looked behind him to see none other than his father, Mikael, standing beside Esther.

"Your mother said you had finally decided to grace us with your presence," Mikael continued as Klaus turned to face him, regarding the man with a look of pure disdain that was made to appear somewhat eerie by the smirk that appeared on his face.

"You almost sound a little bitter father," Klaus taunted. "If I had known you'd missed me, I might've penciled you in earlier or sent a postcard."

Esther, recognizing that her son and husband were about to get into a battle of wits that would undoubtedly end badly, decided to quickly intervene.

"Dear, have you met Caroline yet?" she smiled, subconsciously glancing around to see if anyone was looking at them.

"Ah yes, Niklaus' latest lady friend," Mikael drawled with a sarcastic undertone as he turned to look at her and she noticed the almost amused smile that appeared on his face. "No, I haven't had the pleasure of being introduced."

"Caroline Forbes," she introduced herself with her winning smile, extending her hand to shake his.

"Mikael Mikaelson," he returned with a smile that made Caroline just a little wary. "You're not at all what I was expecting darling. Last I heard, Niklaus was keeping some less than savory company since he left home like a dog with his tail between his legs. A bit cliche isn't it boy?"

"You would know all about being a cliche wouldn't you, _father_?" Klaus smirked but his icy glare was enough to leave Caroline more than a little perturbed.

"I see the Barnes, best not keep them waiting darling," Esther interjected before Mikael could respond.

Mikael turned to glare at his wife but seemed to reconsider whatever it was he was going to say and instead, turned to Caroline with a smile that was unsettling.

"Caroline, it's been a pleasure," he nodded, reaching out to take her hand and bringing it up to his lips, those same lips quirking at the low growl that reverberated in Klaus' throat. "I hope the family takes to you the way they did to the last girl Niklaus brought home."

The murderous glare that Klaus gave him had Mikael's smile widening.

"Yes, the last one was very popular wasn't she, boy? It's really too bad it didn't work out between you two. Alas, not every relationship gets their happily ever after. At least your brothers have fared better in this department. Have you seen your brother? Marriage does him well wouldn't you agree?"

"Darling," Esther said louder than Caroline expected. "The Barnes are waiting."

Mikael smiled.

"Of course. I look forward in getting to know you better Caroline, while I still have the chance, which may very well be only this weekend. You're quite lovely but don't be surprised if you discover soon enough that you're not the only belle of the ball as far as Niklaus is concerned. Or who knows, you might find a better toy to play with yourself. Excuse us."

Esther nodded at them, giving them both a strained smile before walking away with Mikael. Caroline watched them go, before turning back to Klaus who was looking down, his jaw muscle working furiously.

"Your dad seems charming," she remarked with a hint of sarcasm as she watched the man in question walk away. "And here I was wondering where you got it from."

"You'll find Mikael is many things but fortunately for us both, being my father is not one of them.," he smiled darkly, a bitter and twisted thing but for the first time since she met him, she saw a hint of vulnerability she had never seen in his eyes before.

Her eyes widened in surprise and for a brief moment, she didn't know what to say to that.

"Caroline Forbes is that you?!"

Caroline barely had time to react before Klaus looked away for a brief moment and when he looked back at her, she noticed that he once again appeared guarded, that hint of vulnerability completely gone, she had to wonder if she'd imagined it.

"Excuse me," he said quickly, just as the new girl joined them.

"Caroline Forbes!"

"Dana?" she responded with a weak smile.

 _Not now._

She returned the girl's hug as she watched Klaus walk away and disappear into the crowd, leaving a very confused and bewildered Caroline behind.

* * *

After a few minutes of awkward and very superficial small talk with her old university classmate, Caroline had excused herself and had set out to find Klaus but hadn't seen him anywhere.

"Hi."

Caroline turned to see the pretty brunette that reminded her a lot of Katherine and that she had seen earlier, approaching her with a small smile on her face that she returned tentatively.

"Caroline, right?" the brunette asked.

"That's what they call me," Caroline responded jokingly.

"Tatia," the brunette smiled, extending out her hand to shake hers. "It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Elijah's wife-sorry, you probably already knew that."

 _Yeah, she'd heard. From Kol._

"I'm sorry we hadn't heard of you before this weekend though," Tatia continued with a frown. "Especially since it sounds like you and Nik have been together for a while?"

She nodded weakly and quickly glanced around for any sign of Klaus again.

"He must have really kept you under wraps," Tatia laughed lightly. "And you were okay with that?"

"We both decided we wanted to keep our relationship low profile and make sure we were both committed to this, _us_ , before introducing each other to our families," she lied, repeating the story they had agreed upon. "And we both knew that if we mentioned anything about it to our families, they wouldn't stop with the inquisition so we decided to wait until we felt the time was right," she added laughingly.

 _God, I really should've been a drama major._

"So Nik has met your family too?" Tatia asked with a frown.

 _Well…_

"He's met my dad," she replied, feeling her cheeks begin to redden a bit.

"Wow," Tatia said, the surprise evident in her voice and expression. "That, wow. Sorry, just from everything I've heard about Nik, it's hard for me to picture him going home to meet the parents."

"It's hard to believe that Klaus would be in a committed relationship?" Caroline laughed a little uncomfortably.

"No," came Tatia's immediate response, taking Caroline a little by surprise. "I uh...I knew him during a time when he still believed in love and didn't consider it a weakness."

Caroline frowned, trying to think of what to say to that when Tatia continued.

"If I may ask, how..how much has Nik told you about me?"

 _Nothing._

"Not much," she replied, keeping her voice light. "Is there something he should've mentioned?"

Tatia tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and laughed, the sound coming out a little nervous and forced.

"No," she answered. "I'm sure Nik has his reasons. I probably shouldn't say anything."

Caroline raised her eyebrows, feeling her annoyance start to rise but it appeared this was the moment the brunette decided to excuse herself.

"Excuse me. Elijah is probably looking for me. It was nice meeting you, Caroline," she smiled. "I'm sure I'll see you around later."

"Uh yeah," Caroline smiled.

As she watched Tatia walk away, for the second time that evening, Caroline found herself confused and once again, the reason for her confusion could be traced back to one Klaus Mikaelson.

And for the second time that evening, she found herself questioning why she cared.

* * *

The rest of the evening seemed to be uneventful as far as the gala was concerned. Most of the guests had began slowly filing out after Lockwood's speech. Even Richard himself had bowed out about an hour after the speech, along with his wife. Also going with them? Her father. She saw him escort the happy couple out without so much as seeking her out again, indicating just how p.o.'d he was and she grimaced thinking how this more than likely meant there would be some repercussions for tonight's little...situation.

She tried to some sleuthing but the guests she talked to were either clueless and only there for the free alcohol, only knew unsubstantiated rumors, or were total Lockwood fanatics.

She was sitting alone at the bar, starting to really regret not going after Tyler (whom she hadn't seen since) when she noticed Mason walking across the room.

 _I thought he left._

Deciding this might be her chance, she picked up her drink and quickly but discreetly made her way out of the large room, her eyes trained on Mason, trying to keep a safe distance as she followed him.

With so many people still moving about, it wasn't the easiest task and she lost him for a moment before she caught sight of him going the opposite direction before he turned onto another hallway.

She could feel her heart rate accelerate as she followed after him, both in anticipation of what she might stumble into this time, and in nerves that she might be caught.

 _No Klaus to help you kiss your way out of this one._

Cursing whatever part of her brain conjured up that thought, Caroline clutched her champagne flute a little tighter and walked a little faster.

She had just turned onto the same hall that Mason disappeared in, when she almost walked straight into a human wall in the form of a very tall and broad security guard.

"Can I help you? This section is restricted access only," he said sternly before she could even reply.

"Whoops," she giggled, putting on the 'ditzy' front. "This isn't the way to the bathroom?"

The guard narrowed his eyes as he took her in suspiciously.

She freely took another large swig of her champagne before smiling brightly at the guard.

"I think I need a map to get around this place. It's _huge_!" she exclaimed dramatically. "It's probably why I can't find my boyfriend," she pouted. "He's been gone for like _ever_. Like, he just left me all alone at the bar while he went to go do who knows what."

The guard tried opening his mouth to speak, but she continued her ramblings.

"It's just rude you know?" she huffed, taking another drink. "I have given him _everything_ and this is how he thanks me? I was a backdoor virgin when I met him and now it's like he doesn't even care!"

 _Seriously. I should've been a drama major._

"Miss-"

"Oh my God! You don't think he's cheating on me do you?!"

"Miss! Are you inebriated?" the guard asked exasperatedly.

"Who?" she asked with furrowed eyebrows, playing dumb.

"How much have you had to drink tonight?" He rephrased, his patience clearly wearing thin.

"Only like 3 drinks. 7 tops," she smiled innocently before bringing up her hand as if pretending to whisper. "My mom always said it was tacky and unlady like to be drunk in public."

"Miss, I'm going to have to ask you to come with me."

 _Shit._

"Are you going to take me to your secret camera room to find my cheating scum of a boyfriend?"

"No, I think it's time we get you home," the guard responded dryly, tugging on her elbow as he led her back the way she came.

"Oh! Don't tell him I said that. I still love him!"

"What's your name miss?"

"Why do you ask?" she asked with narrowed eyes. "I'm a taken woman."

She bit back a laugh as she heard him sigh, muttering something that sounded like a curse under his breath as the two continued walking.

They were just reaching the main front hall when she saw Klaus walking out, his gaze immediately falling on her.

"Car-"

"Baby!" she exclaimed quickly, not wanting the guard to get her name.

She quickly pulled out of the guard's gasp and practically jumped into a startled and confused Klaus' arms, spilling what remained of her drink in the process.

"Pumpkin, where'd you go?" she pouted as she pulled back.

"I…" he looked at her bewilderedly.

"I missed you," she cooed, a part of her thoroughly enjoying Klaus' 'wtf' expression.

Still, she couldn't help but notice that his arms wrapped around her waist, holding her close to him.

"Sir is this woman with you?" the guard asked from behind them.

"Of course I am, he's my man," she said, the _duh!_ almost audible.

"Yes, she's with me," Klaus responded, shooting her one more subtle but questioning look before reluctantly looking away from her and toward the other man. "Is there a problem?"

"I think you'll agree it's time to get the lady home," the guard said, his tone conveying it was much more a command than a suggestion.

"Oh yes please," she giggled, nuzzling her face into his neck and smirking against his skin at the way his breath hitched but he tried to cover it up by clearing his throat.

"Right," Klaus said, his voice a little huskier than it had been moments ago. "Come on, love."

She looked up at him to see him smirking down at her, a glint in his eye that she didn't have time to question before he was picking her up and carrying her bridal style.

"Put me down. I can walk," she giggled, trying to keep up the act but quickly shot him a glare.

"I insist," he grinned. "Allow me to try and make amends for leaving you alone."

"Should I call you a cab?" the guard asked irritably, more than ready to be done with them.

"That won't be necessary mate," Klaus smirked before walking away with Caroline still in his arms.

"Put me down you ass," she hissed when she was sure they were out of earshot.

"But _pumpkin_ ," he protested with a pout, the wicked mirth dancing in his eyes.

Obviously he was in a better mood than when he left her. He smelled like scotch now too.

She smiled sweetly before digging her nails into his shoulder blade with enough force to make him wince.

"Please put me down _sweetie_."

"As you wish, _darling_."

She smirked triumphantly as he placed her down at the top of the steps out front.

"Are you going to tell me what that was about?" he asked curiously as they made their way down the steps to wait for their car.

"Sleuthing gone wrong," she shrugged.

Before he could ask anything else, they ran into Finn and Sage who were apparently trying to go home also but Kol took off with the car without them.

The car ride was mostly silent, partly because Finn and Sage ended up riding back with them but mostly because both Klaus and Caroline found themselves lost in their own respective thoughts.

After bidding his brother and sister-in-law goodnight, Caroline and Klaus made their way up to their bedroom and it wasn't until Caroline walked into the room that it hit her.

 _Their_ bedroom _._

The room they were sharing.

 _The bed_ they were sharing.

She gulped as she glanced at the large four-poster bed and once again contemplated another possible sleeping arrangement.

She heard Klaus shut the door behind him, effectively leaving them completely alone for the first time since their heated kiss. The same kiss they had yet to talk about.

 _Shit._

Not wanting to give him the opportunity to bring it up now - _or at all_ \- she quickly went to her bag and just dragged the whole thing into the bathroom with her.

She took her time in there, going through her usual nightly routine at a _much_ slower pace and putting far greater care into everything, almost as if she were on some commercial advertising these products. She was stalling and she knew it but could you blame her for not wanting to go out there and face the smug jerk who had also confessed something pretty personal to her and then all but ran away?

She thought back on what he confessed about his father, or rather, step-father?, and the vulnerability she saw there when he told her and she felt her chest constrict a little. She may not know the entire story there, but she could relate to having a complicated relationship with your father. She laughed darkly to herself. Oh boy could she relate. She just never thought that Klaus Mikaelson of all people, would be the one she related to.

 _What's happening in the world?_

She sighed to herself, thinking how maybe she couldn't fit Klaus Mikaelson into those neat little boxes she tried to put him in. And wasn't that just most frightfully inconvenient?

Maybe not as inconvenient as having to share a bed after making out though.

She took one final look in the mirror, almost laughing as she took in her appearance. Her face was clean and completely void of any kind of make-up and she was dressed in nothing but her pajama tank and small shorts (not exactly what she would've picked had she known she would be sharing a bed with him). She couldn't help but think, in a really strange way, this would be the most vulnerable he would be seeing her too.

For the first time since they met, she wasn't Caroline Forbes the woman on a mission. Whether that mission was to run her usual mile before work, getting to work, or simply having fun. She was just Caroline Forbes.

She took a deep breath.

 _Time to face the music._

* * *

She walked out of the bathroom and was surprised not to find him in the room. The mystery as to where he disappeared was answered when he stepped back into the room from the balcony.

He stopped in his tracks and let his eyes rake over her, taking in the thin shirt and barely there shorts and she felt herself blush under his intense and burning stare.

"Uh, bathroom's all yours," she said after clearing her throat awkwardly.

His eyes snapped up and his gaze lingered on her face for a moment, a ghost of a smile appearing on his face as his eyes finally met hers.

"And here I was wondering if you were going to hide out in there the entire night," he teased.

"I wasn't hiding," she replied defensively even though they both knew she was lying. "It's called getting ready for bed."

He quirked a brow, a smirk on his face letting her know he didn't believe a word she was saying so she turned away with a huff to set her bag back down in the opposite corner of the room, _away from him._

While she rummaged through her stuff, she heard him rummage through his own before he disappeared into the bathroom.

If he was in there long enough, she could pretend to have fallen asleep and she'd be in the clear!

She looked back at the large bed that suddenly didn't seem large enough. Thankfully, there seemed to be more than enough pillows so she quickly set to work on creating the best damn pillow barrier the world would ever see.

She was just settling down on what was her side when he came out of the bathroom. In nothing but sweatpants.

 _Is that seriously all he's sleeping in? Seriously?_

She tried _hard_ not to oggle him but it was virtually impossible not to sneak a lingering glance and admire his lean but perfectly toned body. While she didn't think of herself as shallow, kiddie-pool Caroline anymore, she also wasn't blind.

 _I mean, hello!_

Memories of that said perfectly toned body pinning her against a tree rushed through her mind and when she met his gaze, she saw the lust and amusement in there, almost as if he were reading her thoughts.

She scowled at him and turned her attention back to fixing her blankets, feeling her cheeks redden because he had caught her staring, no doubt feeding his already inflated ego.

"A wall of pillows, sweetheart?" he chuckled as he walked around to the other side of the bed and sat down on. "Is this really necessary?"

"I don't know if you're one of those crazy sleepers and I don't exactly feel like being kneed in my sleep, so yes, they're necessary," she responded with a saccharine smile.

"Hm. Are you sure it's not because you're too afraid you don't have the proper self-control and be able to resist the temptation of lying in the same bed with me?" he teased with a smug grin.

Hell, he knew he probably didn't. Not after finally getting his first taste of the blonde vixen that had been the star of many of his fantasies ever since he met her. But he placed emphasis on _first_ taste because he was confident it wouldn't be the last.

"You wish," she scoffed.

"That I do," he smirked, enjoying the way she rolled her eyes in annoyance.

It was surprising to him how much he enjoyed this little push and pull between them. How she tried to cover their attraction with hostility or indifference even though they both knew, especially after tonight, that she wanted him.

He just needed to convince her to let her guard down and give into those desires.

"Is that why you're sleeping in only those pair of sweatpants?" she retorted.

"I actually normally sleep in less but I didn't think you'd appreciate that," he laughed. "I had to borrow these from Kol. I could always go see if he has a shirt. Something with long sleeves? A turtleneck perhaps?"

"Whatever. Just stick to your side of the bed or I'll make sure you end up sleeping on the floor."

He laughed. He _really_ enjoyed his fiery neighbor.

"As you wish, pumpkin."

She glared at him before she turned on her side, facing away from him.

He sucked in a breath and braced himself, getting ready to bring up a topic he had been dreading since the gala.

"I uh...I wanted to apologize for my father-Mikael," he started, the tension in his voice palpable. "And for just leaving you like that after confessing that I'm a bastard," he laughed bitterly.

She slowly turned onto her back and looked up at him.

"I'm sure he'll feel the need to warn you you won't see a single penny of the great Mikaelson inheritance if you marry me, the poor bastard not even worthy of the Mikaelson name let alone the fortune," he added with another bitter laugh.

"Oh you mean his warnings don't end with him basically saying you're going to cheat on me or me on you?" she asked sarcastically.

"Afraid not," he laughed humorlessly. "Which I would never dream of doing by the way."

"Good, because I would have to kill you and I'm too young to go to prison."

"And I'm too young to die."

She shrugged noncommittally and he couldn't help but shake his head and looked over at her with a small smile that she returned.

"Is that why you left home?" she asked quietly after they both fell silent, recalling Mikael's comment about leaving with his tail between his legs. "Because of Mikael?"

He didn't answer right away and for a moment there, she didn't think he was going to.

"Amongst other reasons," he responded tensely. "Mikael, he always took great pleasure in reminding me I was not a real Mikaelson and that I would never belong in this family."

 _Or anywhere_ he wanted to add.

"Anyway, I'm sorry you had to put up with this family drama," he said quietly. "I'm sure it's the last thing you wanted this weekend, let alone tonight."

It was only after meeting with Mikael that he regretted making this arrangement with Caroline in the first place. He should've never brought her home to meet his family.

"It's okay Klaus, I uh, I get it. I mean, I sort of get it. My dad isn't the easiest person to get along with either," she confessed quietly. "I actually get along better with his husband than I do with him."

He paused and looked down at her, for a moment questioning if he had misheard her. She must've noticed because she laughed lightly and nodded her head.

"Yeah, my dad's gay," she said.

"Oh," was all he managed to say, clearly stunned and she couldn't help but laugh again.

"Yeah," she nodded. "It was a bit of a nasty shock for my mom when she found out. Fifteen years into their marriage."

It was only after she said it that she questioned why the hell she did. She didn't exactly talk about her parent's failed marriage to people that weren't her close friends.

He turned to look at her with raised eyebrows.

"How did _you_ take it?" he asked her quietly, studying her closely.

She shrugged but he could tell she was trying to play it off.

"As well as any teenager could take it I suppose."

They fell silent again, both mulling over their respective relationship with their fathers and what they had just learned about the other.

It was more than a little surreal to her, sitting there, relating to Klaus Mikaelson of all people.

She couldn't stop herself from snorting at _what_ they found to relate over and shook her head when he turned to look at her questioningly.

"Here's to complicated relationships with our dads," she said with a hint of sarcasm. "I guess I should apologize for mine too," she added with a slight frown. "Though in his defense, he did find you…" she trailed off, cursing herself for bringing up the one thing she didn't want to talk about.

"Mauling his only daughter against a tree?" he recalled with a smirk.

She cringed, feeling her cheeks redden again.

"Can we not talk about that please?" she requested, clearing her throat awkwardly and glaring at him when he simply grinned smugly. "It's not a big deal. We shared a kiss so that Mason wouldn't see us. That's it."

"I think we shared a bit more than that wouldn't you agree?" he argued with a smug smirk, giving her a knowing look. "It's too bad we didn't get to play out your fantasy before we were unfortunately interrupted. Since we're on the topic, anymore fantasies of yours you'd like to share with me?"

"Gee let me see," she started sarcastically. "I often fantasize about you being hit by a cab."

Was he serious? Just when she thought that _maybe_ they could get along.

"I must confess, I really do enjoy this little push and pull between us more than I expected," he laughed. "Is that becoming our thing?"

"We don't have a thing," she shot back.

"Sure we do," he argued, the mirth dancing in his eyes as he took in her flushed face and fiery look in her eyes. "Surely even you can't try to deny it after tonight."

" _Seriously_?!" she tried to scoff, feeling her face flush a deeper shade for some unbeknownst reason. "It was a one time thing. I would've kissed anyone to get out of that situation."

"Oh, really?" he retorted, the amusement still evident but along with the amusement, there was an almost hungry look that her trying to suppress a shiver.

Before she could process the sudden shift in the room, he was suddenly leaning over the barrier of pillows, his intense gaze locked on hers and somehow leaving her powerless to look away.

"You may have initially kissed me as a means to hide but I felt how eager and responsive you were to my touch," he continued in a low and seductive voice and _how the hell was he suddenly hovering over her?_

He lightly ran the tip of his index finger down her arm, leaving a trail of goosebumps in his wake.

"You wanted me as much I wanted you," he paused, looking down at the goosebumps on her arm with a satisfied smile. "And something tells me you still do."

She wanted to deny it. _Tried_ to deny it but the words got lodged in her throat. Her heart was hammering in her chest so loudly she was convinced he could hear it, and it seemed like all she could think about was the heat radiating off his very naked chest that was so close to hers and how fucked up was it that she ached for his chest to be pressed against hers and feel his skin against hers?

 _Damn you traitorous body!_

His eyes snapped back to hers and her breath hitched because she knew.

He was going to kiss her. And it scared her how much she wanted him to.

He leaned in slowly, never taking his eyes off her and stopping only when their lips were mere centimeters apart.

"But you just tell yourself whatever you need to to sleep at night."

 _Wait. What?!_

He reached over behind her and hit the switch for the light before she heard him lay back down on his side of the bed.

"Good night, Caroline."

He lied down with a smug and triumphant smile on his face even as he tried to get his aching arousal under control but as he heard her turn over back on her side with an irritated huff, his smile widened.

 _Definitely worth it._

* * *

 **Thank you so much for reading!**

 **Again, I'm really sorry for how long it's taken to update. It's been an interesting few months that had a more than interesting effect on my muse and I truthfully had considered quitting altogether but here we are, for better or for worst. ;) Anyway, I really hope you enjoyed this chapter or at least found it tolerable :) Thank you for taking the time to read it and if you could, it would really mean a lot if you could please share your thoughts with me? :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Happy New Year and happy five years of Klaroline! Last year was hard and draining in many aspects for many of us I think, and I know this will sound cheesy, but I really do hope this year will be better for everyone. Like someone told me, I hope this year brings you many reasons to smile. :)**

 **I want to thank you all for your amazing patience and support with this particular story and with my own personal stuff. Thank you for the follows, the faves, the reviews (reading your reviews for the last chapter had me smiling like a fool the entire time) the messages, for nominating this story for the KC Awards, thank you for everything! I hope to keep giving you guys a story you guys can continue to enjoy. :)**

 **This chapter dedicated to Luce (lclrgsl on tumblr, an incredible writer who also writes Klaroline stories!). You're amazing and I have no idea what made you follow me, but I hope you never come to your senses about it. ;)**

 **Please forgive any errors I didn't catch and hope you guys won't find this chapter too boring. :)**

* * *

 _She runs her hands through his soft curls and sighs softly at the feel of his stubble tickling her sensitive skin._

 _He's kissing his way down her body, setting a blazing fire in his wake and she's more than ready to be consumed._

 _She digs her nails into his shoulders with a soft cry when his mouth finds one of her breasts, his tongue expertly working against her peaked nipple, laving it with attention before moving onto the other that's desperately begging for his attention as well. He then moves lower, pressing hot and open-mouthed kisses, tracing every inch of skin he comes across with his lips and tongue as he continues his descent down her body._

 _He presses a deceptively light and soft kiss on the inside of her thighs as he settles between them before pausing and she almost begs him to continue. She's panting, her entire body on fire and aching for his touch. For him._

 _His gaze suddenly snaps up to meet hers, his pupils blown making his beautiful stormy blue eyes almost completely black. His lips quirk up into a devastatingly sinful smirk, a promise of all that's ahead, and then just as suddenly, he's moving again, his head dipping down to where she's desperately aching for him._

 _She cries out, her hands fisting into his hair when she feels his tongue inside her, moving expertly against her clit while his hands move up and cup her breasts._

 _Her body arches up, desperate for more of his touch and as she cries out his name, she feels him smiling against her skin before he stops his ministrations altogether and looks back up at her with a wicked and wolfish smile, his voice low and laced with sex when he speaks._

" _I told you that you still wanted me. Something tells me you always have."_

 _With that, he dives back in, his tongue tracing figure eights, causing her to throw her head back with a scream and-_

She suddenly woke, tangled up in satin sheets, her breathing a lot quicker as she clenched her thighs tightly together, hating how it felt like every nerve fiber in her body was on fire and she nearly cursed out loud.

The room was still dark and quiet, Klaus soundly sleeping it would appear, and never had she resented him more than right then.

Mentally cursing her devilish neighbor, she turned around and hit her pillow with more force than necessary as she tried to fix it under her head, resisting the urge to slip into the bathroom to seek her release, knowing he was just on the other side of that door and she would sooner be sucked into a black hole in space than risk having him hear. Not that she was feeling dramatic or anything.

But seriously? Was her luck so rotten she had to have to a sex dream when he's lying right next to her?

As she laid there, trying desperately to think about anything other than the way her entire body was aching, her mind inevitably found itself wandering back to everything that had occurred that weekend, evoking what felt like a dozen different emotions and twice as many questions about everything. Her dad. Her article. And of course, _him._

 _Ugh._

As much as she hated to admit it, she couldn't stop thinking about this weekend with him.

She could handle his usual arrogant self, the flirting and those seductive looks, but it was those moments where he let her see past this cocky womanizing persona that disconcerted her the most.

She rolled over onto her back and bit back another frustrated sigh while fighting the urge to get a pillow and hit him with it. How dare he come in and try to mess with her established thoughts and opinions about him this way? How dare he leave her so... _frustrated_?

 _In more ways than one._

She scowled at the ceiling like it had personally offended her.

The time dragged on but still she remained awake and she cursed him and his ability to sleep so soundly while sleep seemed to evade her completely until she finally came to grips with the fact that she was in for a very long and very _uncomfortable_ night.

She couldn't know that just on the other side of that barrier, Klaus lay there wide awake as ever, thinking about her and all they shared that weekend too.

xxx

Caroline felt like she had only just closed her eyes when she slowly drifted awake, feeling the most comfortable she had in awhile.

She opened her eyes almost reluctantly not wanting to wake up just yet but noted the light streaming in through the cracks between the heavy curtains, causing her to frown slightly.

As she drifted into consciousness, she slowly became aware of the soft satin sheets she was tangled up in, the warm weight against her back and around her middle-

She immediately froze and looked down to see Klaus' arm slung over her, just as she heard knocking on the door and realized that this was the same sound that woke her, only this time, it was louder.

She quickly jerked up, both at the knock and the realization of what she was feeling against the small of her back.

 _Oh my g-_

"Niklaus? Caroline?"

"Yes, just a second!" she called out in her best cheery voice she could fake at this ungodly hour-

 _Oh_.

She - _they_ \- had slept in.

She heard Klaus release a low groan as he tried to bury his head deeper into the pillow but otherwise didn't react.

"Klaus!" she hissed in a low voice, quickly grabbing a pillow and hitting him on the side of the head and damn it all if she wasn't tempted to do it again.

Regardless still, she _may_ have been the teeniest bit distracted by the sight of him slowly blinking awake and his sleep-mussed hair that she was _slightly_ tempted to run her fingers through.

"What-" he started in a low raspy voice as he looked over at her with bleary eyes before she quickly interrupted him.

"Your mother's outside!" she whisper-shouted, trying hard not to stare at his lean muscles or his naked torso as he moved onto his back.

She felt her cheeks flush a little as her erotic dream came back to the forefront of her mind and waking up like this with him was definitely making it all infinitely worse.

"What?" he repeated with a slight scowl that turned into a frown as he took her in. "Are you blushing?"

"No," she answered quickly and a bit too defensively as she quickly moved to remove what little remained of her pillow barrier instead.

Which reminded her-

"And way to stick to your side of the bed," she huffed, shooting him a venomous glare.

"What?"

 _Was he always this slow in the mornings?_

"You totally breached my pillow barrier!"

Whatever he was going to say was cut off when the door was suddenly thrown open with a bang, and she barely made out an annoyingly familiar male voice saying, "They're fine, they're just being lazy."

She yelped and yanked up the duvet at the same time that Klaus shot up, moving close to her. Dangerously close.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Klaus snapped angrily as they both watched his younger brother stroll into the room looking all too chipper.

Kol ignored the murderous and irritated glare his brother and the blonde were respectively shooting him, and walked straight to throw the curtains open instead, while Esther walked in after him brief moments later looking just a tad bit apologetic.

Emphasis on _just a tad bit_.

"Oh good, you're both decent enough," the dark haired Mikaelson smiled as he turned back to them before bringing up the polaroid camera he was carrying and snapping a picture of them too quickly for them to react. "Rise and shine lovebirds," he crooned right before snapping another. "Up and at 'em."

"That's enough Kol," Esther chastised at the same time that Klaus growled his brother's name threateningly with a menacing glare.

"I'm just trying to capture the memories. Carpe diem or whatever the kids say nowadays," Kol defended as he shook out one of the pictures and looked down at it amusedly before glancing back at them. "I think there's hope for my future nieces and nephews to not be _completely_ unfortunate-looking-"

" _Why_ are you here?" Klaus snarled, visibly losing what little semblance of patience he had to begin with.

Kol was opening his mouth to speak again, no doubt to retort something that would have Klaus responding with physical violence by the looks of it, but Esther answered before he could say anything else.

"We apologize for intruding," Esther started, shooting Kol a warning look. "I only wished to bid you both a good morning. I trust you slept well?"

"Very well by the looks of it," Kol snickered as he looked around at all the pillows strewn about on the floor. "Or did you two get any sleep at all? Looks like you two were busy trying to make Rosemary's baby in here."

Esther released an exasperated sigh as she watched Klaus growl and throw a pillow at her dark-haired and mischievous son.

Caroline for her part resisted the urge to slap her palm on her face as she took in the mess she had created when she had thrown out the extra pillows and the tangled sheets and blankets, now realizing how it could be construed by some people.

People like Kol, apparently.

At least they were dressed. Well, _mostly_ dressed.

"Yes, everything was perfect, thank you," Caroline interjected quickly, wanting nothing more than to throw something at the younger Mikaelson herself but opting for just getting him and Klaus' mother out of the room as soon as possible instead.

"Though we could have done without the bloody wake-up call," Klaus grumbled and she couldn't help but mentally agree.

"Already grumpy Niklaus?" Kol taunted. "Why so glum chum? You'd think waking up next to such a beautiful woman would have you in better spirits."

Caroline scoffed when the younger Mikaelson looked at her with a flirtatious smirk, something that Klaus apparently noticed if the growl he emitted was anything to go by.

"Kol enough," Esther warned, clearly growing exasperated with her son. "We'll leave you be in a moment. I only wanted to inform you that I took the liberty of organizing a small lunch, a little farewell type of lunch if you will, with the family and I've invited a few of our friends."

Klaus' eye twitched.

"You did _what_?"

"Don't worry, it's only a few people. Nothing too extravagant," Esther continued. "Just a small gathering with the family and some friends to allow everyone to see you and now they get to meet Caroline."

Esther turned to look at her.

"Isn't that lovely?" she added with a smile that Caroline tried to weakly return as she muttered a 'yeah' while she cursed everything from the universe to the glass of water on the nightstand for this little situation she was stuck in.

"We have a flight to catch," Klaus quickly argued.

"I'm aware Niklaus, that's why I've arranged for it to be lunch and not dinner. You'll have plenty of time afterward to relax and still make your flight at 5:45," Esther answered with a dismissive hand wave. "Terminal 2 I believe it is?"

Though he probably shouldn't be entirely surprised, he still looked at his mother with a mixture of disbelief and annoyance.

"Now, we'll leave you two to get ready. I'll have somebody bring you up breakfast but I suggest you leave some room for later."

"You should have run this by us," he argued.

"And what would have said?" she retorted knowingly.

"I would have kindly informed you that I'm not going to some bloody lunch," he smiled sarcastically and Esther merely chuckled.

"I assumed as much and I wish you would reconsider," she said with an amused undertone. "It's going to be a _magical_ time."

If she wanted a " _magical"_ time, she would've just gone to Disneyland, Caroline thought to herself irritably.

"Mother-"

Esther flashed them one last smile and turned to walk away, ignoring Klaus muttering that this is why he never came to visit, and Kol snapped one more picture, dodging the pillow Klaus threw at him with a smirk before turning to walk away. Before he actually left the room however, he paused at the door and turned back to them.

"Now while it might be tempting to shower together, we are on a schedule so no time for fooling around like last night at the gala when you both snuck off to the gardens," Kol said, clearly enjoying Caroline's horrified expression as she glanced at Esther who was standing right in front of him, and Klaus' irritated one as he glared at him. "Unless Nik here is still a two pump chump-"

" _Get_ _out_!" Klaus snarled at the same time Esther all but pulled him out the door, scolding him as she did.

"Oh my God!" Caroline exclaimed feeling completely mortified. "Is your brother always such an..."

She couldn't think of a good enough word to describe the halfwit that had been having _far_ too much fun at her expense this weekend.

She wasn't sure if she wanted to crawl underneath a rock just remembering the way Esther's eyebrows had risen dangerously high upon hearing Kol's little remark about them "sneaking off" at the gala, or if she wanted to beat Kol with a rock instead.

Maybe both. Both sounded good.

"Imbecile? Twat?" Klaus supplied wryly. "I'm afraid it's a natural ability of his that we've all been cursed with."

She huffed and pushed some hair out of her face, silently contemplating if there was a way she could get out of this lunch and avoid seeing the Mikaelson matron for the remainder of her stay.

"Thanks to your brother, now basically your entire family thinks I can't keep it in my pants and restrain myself from jumping your bones anywhere like a two-bit hussy!" she groaned.

Despite his own current irritation, Klaus was powerless to stop the surprised and amused laugh that came tumbling out of his lips at her choice of words.

"I'm sure nobody judges you. I've been known to have that effect on people," he smirked arrogantly.

"I will hurt you too," she promised and the murderous look on her face let him know she was probably more serious than anything.

He raised his eyes hands innocently with an all too amused look but wisely refrained from making a comment he knew would more than likely get him punched and then some.

"Perhaps now you'll understand some of the reason behind my madness," he said instead.

"It certainly puts some things in perspective," she quipped sarcastically. "And here I thought I couldn't find a Mikaelson more annoying than you," she grumbled, rolling her eyes when she heard him chuckle.

"Careful love, I might confuse that for a compliment. Wouldn't want that now would we?" he teased with that dimpled grin she _maybe_ was a little partial to, and a mirth dancing in his eyes.

She rolled her eyes only half-heartedly and felt a smile tug on her lips despite her best efforts, something that he of course noticed if the way his smile grew was anything to go by and perhaps for just a moment, she almost forgot that she was supposed to be annoyed with him too for last night.

"Perhaps I should return the favor and tell you how stunning you look in the mornings," he continued, his lips curling into a flirtatious grin. "Genuine beauty indeed."

She snorted and rolled her eyes.

"Do you use that line on every girl?" she asked with raised brows. "Because let me tell you, it's a little cliche. More than a little, actually."

"Noted, love," he smiled wryly, a small part of him wondering if she would rebuff him at every turn. "Thank you for your honesty and dating advice."

"What are friends for?" she smirked smugly.

"So we're friends then?" he replied with raised brows and a devilish but dimpled smile that she swore up and down did _not_ affect her even in the slightest.

She shot him an incredulous look over her shoulder.

"Would that really be so bad?" he asked with a smirk and challenging look in his eyes. "Or would that mean you'd have to admit that perhaps you don't entirely dislike me as much as you'd like to believe?"

She narrowed her eyes and scoffed, refusing to let her mind linger on his words and quickly moved to get off the bed and away from him, his dimples, and his sleep-rumpled hair.

Klaus for his part, _tried_ not to stare at how long her legs looked under those tiny shorts as she moved off the bed, and he certainly tried not to notice how thin her tank was, nor did he imagine how easy it would be to rip said tank in two.

"Oh yeah, I'm like half in love with you already," she countered sarcastically as she carelessly threw some of the pillows back onto the bed, effectively pulling his attention away. "I mean, what's there to dislike? Your modesty and humbleness? The fact that you're apparently a bed hog who can't respect pillow barriers?" she finished, turning to glare at him.

He raised his eyebrows at her looking at her with what appeared to be pure intrigue.

"Ah yes, I believe you were mentioning something about the matter before my dear family interrupted," he replied, blinking up at her innocently.

"Uh _yeah_. I was 'mentioning' that I woke up _with you freaking spooning with me_ and my pillow barrier practically gone because _you_ couldn't stay on your side of the bed!"

"Actually, love that was all you," he said with a wicked grin.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

" _You_ were actually the first to breach your lovely little barrier and come onto my side," he informed her all too happily. "I was just an innocent victim."

She opened her mouth but he continued before she could say anything.

"But don't worry love, I won't hold what your subconscious wants against you," he said. "Never underestimate the power of one's subconscious," he added in a perfectly serious tone though the wicked and smug mirth in his eyes gave him away. "Or the power of a stolen kiss."

And there was that damn urge to slap him all over again or flip him off because _was he fucking serious?_!

Still, she felt her cheeks flush a little both at the mention of her subconscious and their kiss, the memory of how he felt pressed against her, the image of him kissing down her body, his velvety voice that oozed sex whispering into her ear still very much fresh in her mind. _Not_ that she would give him the satisfaction of _ever_ knowing that.

"Are you _-Ugh!_ Why do I even waste my time talking to you?!"

He was opening his mouth to speak again when the sound of someone knocking on the door interrupted them, followed by the sound of one of the maids announcing she had their breakfast and Caroline could not be more grateful.

She quickly hurried to open it and then took the opportunity to grab her bag and toiletries, getting ready to make her escape to the bathroom again.

"Do you need anything, miss? Some fresh towels?" the maid asked as she noticed Caroline gathering her stuff.

"No, I'm fine thank you," she smiled politely and the maid nodded before asking Klaus the same and then excusing herself after he shook his head.

Caroline was just about to close the bathroom door behind her when she heard Klaus' voice.

"What about me, love? Need my help with anything?"

She paused and shot him an _"I'm stabbing you in my mind right now"_ smile over her shoulder while he lounged on the bed as arrogantly as ever with that smug smirk on his face.

"Nope," she popped the 'p'. "And for the record, I don't seek out two pump chumps in my subconscious or otherwise."

With that, she closed the door with a little more force than necessary.

Klaus heard the door slam shut and was left speechless for a split second before he shook his head with a pleasantly surprised laugh. His fiery neighbor would never ceased to amaze him it would appear.

Oh he was going to kill that little shit Kol to be sure for that little comment, but as his thoughts drifted off to the blonde spitfire, he couldn't help but chuckle.

God she was stunning and with every interaction, she just seemed to draw him in more.

He knew he was playing with fire, that he should stop and keep his distance but like a moth to a flame he went and after last night, damn it all if he wouldn't light himself on fire just to get another taste of the stunning blonde living across the hall.

xxx

It was a long while later when Caroline finally emerged from the bathroom, having taken extra time in there to recollect her thoughts and compose herself, and maybe a small part of her did took so long knowing he was waiting to use the bathroom as well. But mostly she took the extra time to get her head on straight.

One weekend with him and she found herself torn more often than not between wanting to _strangle_ him and wanting to _straddle_ him. Needless to say, it. Was. _Maddening._

She knew she shouldn't have kissed him, hell she shouldn't even have teased him the way she had at the gala, but when she was with him, it was hard to remember all the reasons she should be staying away.

But she knew she couldn't give into her baser desires or let herself be seduced or charmed by him. He wanted her for right now that much she knew. She'd met and been burned by his type before and she refused to fall under the devil's charms again even if this time, he came wrapped with dimples and an accent.

 _Well, dimples, accent and a great ass._

Then there was also the fact that he was a smug, cocky jerk.

A smug, cocky jerk that was still her neighbor and she did not want to deal with the awkwardness that would be sure to follow a one-night stand. She liked where she lived thank you very much and maybe asking him to move to avoid said awkwardness would be a little unreasonable.

Shaking her head, she stepped further into the room, taking in the now made, but empty bed.

 _Speaking of..where is the dimpled devil?_

She glanced around the empty room, the tray of food the maid had brought in earlier still sitting on the table but it appeared untouched.

She quickly and discreetly of course, peeked out to the balcony to find it empty as well and for a split second, she frowned, wondering where he went.

 _Maybe he got tired of waiting and had to use one of the other many bathrooms in this house?_

 _Good,_ she thought to herself, channeling her inner grumpy cat.

The sound of her phone buzzing on the nightstand pulled her out of musings and she quickly scurried over, only to cringe when she saw who was calling.

 _Her mother._

While she and her mother no longer had the strained relationship they once had, they weren't as close as they could be and if she knew her mother at all, something told her that this call was related to what her dad walked in on last night.

She let the call go to voicemail and her eyes immediately widened when she saw this wasn't the first call she had received from her. It was the _third._

Three missed calls and a voicemail.

Sighing, she started listening to her mother's voicemail, groaning when she heard some of her first words.

" _Just had an interesting talk with your father_ -"

"Of course you did," she muttered sarcastically when her eyes landed on a velvet black box partly tucked underneath her pillow, with a nice silk ribbon tied on top.

She raised her eyebrows and reached out for it, feeling a sudden wave of irritation as she pulled out the long box.

"If this is another freaking diamond-"

She stopped as she opened the box and was met the sight of a rolled up paper instead of a lavish piece of jewelry like the one she had once received from him.

Raising her brows, she couldn't help her burning curiosity as she picked it up and when she unrolled it, she was left gaping at what she found.

It was a drawing of her from the night before.

She recognized the dress and it surprised her the attention to detail that was put into capturing everything from the style of the dress to the earrings she wore but what surprised her the most was how... _beautiful_ she looked.

 _When did he do this?_

She set the phone down, truthfully not having heard most -or any really- of her mother's message, and completely unrolled the piece of paper so she could look at it better.

She couldn't look away and it was both fascinating and weird the way she eagerly studied every detail about…herself. The shape of her mouth. The curve of her jaw. But her eyes. That was what struck her the most. There was no color to this drawing and yet...she could almost see the soft light in them.

In the bottom, written in his elegant script was a simple note.

 _Thank you for accompanying me. -Klaus_

She knew everything she had told herself earlier was still true, and she was still irritated with him, but it didn't change the fact that in that moment, she was left stunned and speechless. And maybe even a little breathless.

xxx

A short while later, Caroline found herself wandering down one of the many halls, taking her time on her way down to this "small lunch gathering" that she suspected wasn't so small from the commotion she could hear and the passing servers she'd already seen scrambling about.

So much for "not too extravagant."

At least she knew where Klaus got it from she mused, as she remembered the night she'd gone over to properly introduce herself and he'd tried to get some private chef to come cook dinner. Not to mention the diamond bracelet he'd tried to apologize with the next day.

Rolling her eyes to herself, she paused when she caught sight of a portrait that hung on the wall and several similar ones hanging beside it. Self-portraits of the Mikaelson's.

She'd taken a different way after she'd heard Esther and Klaus' aunt down one of the halls so she hadn't seen these portraits yesterday.

She stopped in front of one of the paintings that she recognized as Finn, his striking features very similar to the real thing and she had to do a double take to ensure this really was a painting and not an actual picture because it looked so real.

He looked a lot younger in this portrait but no less handsome, and beside his portrait hung another one of another dark-haired Mikaelson she recognized from last night at the gala. She had only seen him from a distance but if this portrait was anything to go by, he was a very attractive man.

 _A family trait I take it._

She studied the serious man for a moment, a part of her wondering what the history between him and Klaus was, a part of her wondering if Klaus would actually trust her with that. Then again, why would he? It's not as if they were even friends...right?

Her eyes then fell on an all too familiar face, and she quietly walked over to his portrait, once again astounded by the near likeness to the real thing. His face also looked younger here and the stubble she secretly liked was missing, but he was still undeniably handsome.

She let her eyes roam over the details before moving to study his eyes next. They were the exact shade but there was something different about them. Maybe it was because it was only a portrait, or maybe it's because back then they didn't actually exist, but she didn't see the shadows that she could now see in them.

"The near-likeness is remarkable is it not?" she heard a voice come from behind her and she turned, her body immediately stiffening when she saw who it was.

Mikael was walking towards her, his hands clasped behind his back and Caroline didn't know what it was about the man that just made her want to bolt.

Her silent hopes that he would keep on walking were quickly dashed when he stopped right beside her, his eyes glancing at the painting before falling back on her, looking at her expectantly.

"Yeah, they're very beautiful," she answered after quietly clearing her throat.

"It was my wife's idea and I have to concede, she did find a rather talented artist who captured their essence perfectly," he commented, looking back at the portrait in front of him and she noticed as his lips curled into an almost sneer. "Though he was rather... _generous_ on the portrayal of others."

Caroline had to keep from openly rolling her eyes at the man as she wondered if he was always such a dick?

"I think they all look great," she said lightly before turning her attention back to Klaus' portrait. "But I think this one's my favorite," she couldn't resist adding with a bright smile.

"Yes well, perhaps you're biased my dear," he responded with a light chuckle that she could tell was forced.

She shrugged.

"Maybe so. But I think perhaps you're biased too," she responded easily.

While he kept the smile on his face, the look in his eyes told her it was the wrong thing to say.

"Perhaps you're right," he conceded. "Perhaps you'll have to enlighten me."

She raised her eyebrows and let out a small laugh that she hoped didn't sound as forced as she felt it.

"Perhaps you can tell me what a beautiful and charming woman such as yourself, sees in someone like Niklaus?"

She froze for a moment, not having expected that question but something told her that Mikael wasn't asking with the same concern other parents might have.

"I should probably give you the cliff-notes version so we don't miss the lunch gathering," she replied with that perfect Miss Mystic smile and he chuckled but there was nothing amused about it.

"You know, I had the pleasure of being properly introduced to your father last night after he sought me out at the gala," he continued almost conversationally, as if he were talking about the weather.

Caroline wanted to scream.

 _Of course her dad sought out Mikael Mikaelson._

"I had no idea your father was our head of security. Such a small world," he chuckled to himself. "Coincidentally small one could say."

She looked at him with a slightly raised brow, her body tensing as she realized she had an idea where this might be going.

"Turns out we were both equally surprised to find that our children were dating one another, but perhaps not as surprised as we were to learn about your little passionate escapade in the gardens," he added and she felt her face burn.

It was all she could do not to tell him it was none of his damn business or go hide under a rock somewhere.

"He seems like a very charming man, your father," he continued. "Much like his daughter. Must be that small town charm your father mentioned you were from. So I've been trying to figure it out in my head, what does a young and charming woman like yourself, daughter of a security guard see in someone as flippant and superficially charming as Niklaus?"

He looked at her with an eerie smile that made her skin crawl.

"Is it the size of his heart, or the size of his wallet?"

Let it never be said that Caroline Forbes held no self-control because every fiber in her being was screaming at her to break this man's nose in.

Instead, she plastered on her best smile even as she clenched and unclenched a fist on her side.

"Yeah, my dad oversees security and my mom's a small town sheriff so no, they're not leaving me a trust fund. They're not rich. They're not perfect but at least they're honest in their work and that's a lot more than can be said for others," she responded with a sardonic smile in that same deceptively calm and sweet voice, giving him a pointed look as she said that last part. "And while you would be right about me being interested in something in Klaus' pants, I can assure you, it's not his wallet."

She flashed him her patented Caroline-Forbes-Winning-Miss-Mystic-Falls smile as she took a step back, trying to ignore the goosebumps that appeared.

"Now, if you'll excuse me. Sounds like the party's started."

As she walked away, she could feel Mikael's gaze boring into the back of her head but she refused to turn and look at him. She knew she wouldn't be able to resist the urge to flip him off if she did.

xxx

Klaus made his way downstairs, noting how some of his mother's guests had already arrived but there was only one person in particular he wanted to see.

"The guest of honor has finally arrived," he heard Kol say right before he heard the sound of a camera clicking.

He growled and pushed the camera away.

"Still touchy I see," his brother mused amusedly as he moved the camera away. "You should've made it a cold shower."

"You do comprehend that I hold absolutely no qualms whatsoever about hurting you?"

"You're welcome to try," Kol smirked.

He rolled his eyes at him but decided to resist the temptation of punching the imbecile, and instead glanced around the room again.

"Have you seen Caroline?"

"Lost her already have we?" Kol asked with that smug grin. "Don't worry, if you two are meant to be together, eventually you'll find your way back to each other."

Klaus glowered at him, wondering why even bothered with the idiot.

"Did you do what I asked?" he asked his irritating younger brother.

"That depends," Kol smirked. "Are you finally going to tell me what this is all about?"

Klaus rolled his eyes.

"And like I told you, it's none of your concern and you _will_ do this for me."

"And what makes you so sure I will?" Kol asked smugly.

Klaus regarded his younger brother for a moment before his lips curled into a smug smirk of his own.

"Monte Carlo."

Klaus watched with satisfaction as Kol's own smile fell off his face and replaced with a scowl at those two words.

"You're a bloody son of a bitch you know that?"

"Yes but you already knew that too didn't you?" Klaus replied easily.

Kol flipped him off with a sarcastic smile before looking past him and a new mischievous glint appeared in his eyes, making Klaus turn to look too, only to see their sister walking down the steps just then.

"Well, well, well. Here's our girl."

Klaus stepped aside but of course, Kol stepped up and blocked her path, sidestepping with her until she glared at him.

"Get out of my way," she snapped.

"Is that any way to talk to the person who covered for you this morning with mother?" Kol replied with an arched brow, the amusement clearly etched on his face. "Don't think I'm not aware of your little rendezvous last night. I know all. Out all night. What a scandal! I trust you did better than that commoner from last time? What was his name again? Didn't he leave you with the tab? Or was that another peasant I'm thinking of? It's hard to keep track. You really need to make better choices dear sister."

Rebekah looked like she was ready to strangle him while Klaus quirked an eyebrow, looking between his siblings with clear interest.

"If you don't shut your mouth the next thing to come out of it will be your teeth," she hissed, glaring down at him as she spoke.

"And this right here is why you don't have any friends Bekah," he replied mockingly. "Violence is frowned upon in today's day and age."

Klaus looked between the two of them, unable to fight back the smirk that formed on his face, a part of him happy to one, see someone else snapping at Kol, and two, see Kol annoy someone else for a change.

"Don't you dare start too Nik," she warned, turning to glare at him too.

"I haven't said anything," he shrugged innocently. "But do tell. Where did you run off to last night, hm?"

"It's none of your business. Neither of you. So move out of my way," she snapped.

"So cranky sister. You'd think you'd be in a better mood after gallivanting around sin city all night," Kol taunted. "Honestly with how touchy you are this fine day, you'd think you didn't get any last night either like poor Nik here. He was just telling me about his case of blue balls-"

He quickly dodged as Klaus moved to hit him.

Rebekah rolled her eyes at her brothers antics before turning her attention to Klaus.

"And where is your pretty little girlfriend? Don't tell me you've already grown bored of her," she said with a mocking smile.

"Not even close so I suggest you play nice little sister," he responded with his trademark smirk but the underlying warning was clear in his voice and in his eyes.

"Don't I always?" she smiled, making Kol smirk and Klaus narrow his eyes. "I've been playing nice all this weekend haven't I?"

"I didn't think she had it in her," Kol remarked with that annoying smirk in place. "I thought 'mean' was her permanent setting."

"And what's yours?" she shot back snidely. "Insufferable twat?"

"No, that was your last little boy toy."

Klaus rolled his eyes at his sibling's bickering and decided it was time to take his leave for now.

"Ditching us for your new love?" Kol called out laughingly but Klaus ignored him.

Rebekah watched him walk away, an almost pensive look on her face as she did.

"Do you think he truly cares for her?" she asked, keeping her attention on her older brother that was obviously looking for the blonde. "Do you think it's actually serious between them?"

Kol wanted to laugh, thinking to himself if only his dear sister knew the truth.

"Perhaps we should read his diary and find out," he smirked.

Rebekah turned to glare at him and ask him if he were capable of taking anything seriously when something else caught her attention and she sneered disdainfully.

"Oh good, here I was worrying that this little gathering wouldn't be highly uncomfortable and end with some type of bloodshed," she remarked sarcastically.

Kol turned and followed her gaze, letting out an almost humorless laugh when he saw Elijah and Tatia walking down the main hall.

"But hadn't you heard sweet sister? Highly uncomfortable and bloodshed is what we Mikaelson's do best."

xxx

Klaus found Caroline sitting out back sitting on a bench by herself and he felt a smile tug on his lips as he made his way over to her.

She hadn't noticed him yet so he took a moment to take her in, admiring how beautiful she looked in her bright red spring dress, her hair down in loose curls.

He watched in subtle amusement at the way she eyed the food in her hand with her brows slightly furrowed as she brought it up to her nose. It must have smelled okay because she took a bite out of it, only to immediately bring a napkin up to her mouth to spit it out.

"I saw that."

Caroline froze and fought back the urge to groan out loud at the accented and clearly amused voice she heard.

She turned her head and was greeted by a familiar pair of dimples and blue eyes lit up with mirth as he looked down at her.

"Oh, it's you," she quipped with a hint of sarcasm and he chuckled as he took a seat beside her, the mirth dancing in his eyes as he watched her put the rest of the food she had bitten into back on her plate with a scrunched up nose.

"Can I offer you a drink?" he asked smoothly and she raised a half-full glass of a mimosa sitting beside her that he hadn't noticed before.

"Sage said I had to try the mimosa's and I think I figured out what makes them so special," she remarked and he smirked.

"I'm sure you'll find this incredibly hard to believe, but copious amounts of alcohol are required to get through a Mikaelson event of any sort."

He watched the small smile that tugged on her lips at that he and felt one form on his own lips.

"At the risk of sounding like I'm using yet another terrible pickup line, I have to tell you how beautiful you look," he continued with a bit of a flirtatious but genuine smile and she felt that involuntary smile widen ever so slightly but she quickly tried to hide it.

It was stupid for her to react this way to a guy calling her pretty. Why did she seem to revert to a blushing schoolgirl with him? Scowling at herself, she looked away.

"Not exactly the small lunch gathering I was imagining," she commented as she glanced at the passing servers carrying large trays around to offer the expensive food to the guests.

"They never are," he smirked. "Now why isn't the former Miss Mystic Falls out mingling with the rest of the party? Already discovered how dreadfully boring everyone here is?"

"I needed some air," she shrugged, debating on telling him about her little run-in with his dad and if it would do any good mentioning it. "What's your excuse?"

"I despise mundane small talk, especially with people I have no intention of seeing again, much less befriending," he answered matter-of-factly.

"Your charm is the gift that just keeps on giving isn't it?" she asked laughingly.

"One of many," he grinned arrogantly.

"You know, with how full of yourself you are, I'm surprised you're able to drag yourself away from the mirror every morning," she quipped.

He laughed and she felt her stomach do a weird thing that could easily be confused with butterflies but that was certainly _not_ the case here.

She looked away and took a sip of her drink in an effort to distract herself and caught sight of the group of people gathering inside the house, watching as they chatted and accepted the drinks from the passing servers. Somewhere in there were the other Mikaelson's and she glanced again at the one sitting beside her.

"So how does it feel being home again?" she asked with genuine curiosity.

He huffed out a laugh and glanced back towards his family's house. The house that he had once called home too.

"I'm wondering why I waited this long to come back," he replied sarcastically.

Still, despite his sarcasm, she knew there was a part of him that really was glad to be home. She'd seen him with his siblings the previous day. She'd seen the small smile on his lips as he showed her around and recounted stories. She'd caught the change in his tone when he talked about his family. Even if he wouldn't admit it out loud to her.

"Were all your previous trips to visit your beau's families as quiet and uneventful as this one or will this be the most unmemorable?" he asked, and she couldn't help the small laugh that escaped her.

She felt her smile grow when she saw the teasing glint in his eyes that matched the dimpled grin on his face and for a moment, it felt like it was just them with no pretenses. Not the happy couple they were supposed to be. Not the neighbors that could barely be in each other's presence. Just Klaus and Caroline.

"Can I ask you something? Why me?"

He arched a brow in question so she continued.

"You know _plenty_ of beautiful women. I'm sure one of them would've agreed to pretend to be your girlfriend, so why'd you choose me?"

He looked away for a moment and didn't answer right away before looking back at her with a look in his eyes she couldn't quite decipher.

"Because I fancy you and wanted a way to spend more time with you," he responded quietly.

 _What-_

She baulked and for a moment didn't know what to say because _that_ was definitely _not_ the response she was expecting. She tried to think of what to respond, _what did one say to that-_ when she saw his lips curl into a teasing and smug smirk and she fought down the urge to smack it off.

 _Of course he was only messing with her._

"Ass."

He chuckled and watched her take another quite generous sip of her drink.

"I truthfully never thought about doing something like this before you showed up at my door," he confessed. "It seemed like a good idea at the time and I knew if there was anyone I could trust with this, it'd be you."

She met his gaze and something about the way he was looking at her made her think it was more than because she had something at stake too.

"Now is it my turn to ask you something?" he asked with a grin. "Why journalism?"

"Because I'm good at it," she shrugged, giving her usual response she gave when asked about her choice of field.

"I can't imagine that's the only thing you're good at," he smirked, looking at her expectantly until she finally sighed with another slight shrug.

"Because I wanted to tell the stories that needed to be told. I wanted to do something that matters, to make a difference. I know I'm such a cliché. Small town girl who had never really been anywhere wanting to make a difference in the world but I knew it's what I wanted to do."

She felt a little self-conscious admitting this out loud to him truth be told. It wasn't something she admitted to many people but her already faulty filter seemed to be that much more defective around him and she seemed to just say what was on her mind more often than she'd like.

"And also because when people tell me I can't do something, I like to prove them wrong," she added, sticking her chin out slightly in proud defiance, remembering all the opinions she'd gotten from just about every adult and even friends and peers when she shared her dreams and plans. Even her own mother had laughed and written off the idea. Her dad had barely even bothered to ask what she was studying once she was in school.

He didn't say anything so she glanced at him again and found him looking at her in a way that caused her heart to skip a beat. He was looking at her in way she could only describe as genuine amusement and affection, a look so different from his usual flirtatious ones she was used to...

"You are everything but a cliché, Caroline Forbes," he told her in a tone that reflected his expression. "I'm very glad you came this weekend."

She gave him a small but warm smile because the truth was, in whatever strange way, she was too. Before she could tell him as much, she felt her heart start to race when he leaned in and she desperately prayed he didn't notice the slight hitch in her breath when his lips softly touched her skin.

It was a soft but lingering kiss on her cheek but still it seemed like every fiber in her body was suddenly honed in on that spot, every part of her craving that same attention and she found herself closing her eyes and leaning into his touch.

He pulled back just enough to meet her gaze again and there was something raw and tender in his eyes that just like his drawing earlier, it left her speechless and a little breathless.

Her mind was reeling but before she could form any semblance of a coherent thought, she saw his eyes look up a split second before she heard a throat being cleared right behind her.

"I apologize for interrupting," she heard Esther start to say as she quickly turned around to see who had joined them.

She felt her cheeks flush a little at the thought of what Esther had seen and interrupted before reminding herself that this was what she and Klaus were supposed to be doing. Acting before their audience.

 _How long had he known his mother was watching them, walking towards them?_

She only vaguely heard what Esther was saying about the guests asking for them and her wanting to introduce them to some friend or another and she merely nodded when the older woman turned to look at her.

She could feel Klaus' gaze on her as she stood, but she avoided meeting his eyes.

It was all an act. All of it.

She felt an ache in her chest at the sobering reminder. A reminder she desperately needed apparently.

Because maybe for that moment before Esther interrupted, the way he looked at her, it had felt real between them and it more than likely wasn't.

And maybe there was a part of her that was disappointed and slightly terrified because she realized that moment, no matter how small a moment it may have been, maybe it had been real for her.

* * *

 **Thanks so much for reading! Sorry, I know this was a bit of a filler chapter but I needed to set up what comes in the next arc so thank you for bearing with me. :) I know I had more to say but I'm blanking on it right now, sorry! Anyway, thank you so much for reading, and if you guys have the time, it would really mean a lot if you guys could share your thoughts with me. Thank you! :)**


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